Unlikely Heroes
by Co-lord44
Summary: Continuing where the anime left off the four from the Netherworld will meet four guys. From there not only will love form but a chance to save the world. As much as it seems like it can't be.
1. Chapter 1

Unlikely Heroes

Author's notes: Well here it is like I promised even though it's a bit later than I would have liked. The story featuring Liru. Of course the rest of the cast will appear along with OC's. Like I sated before the anime never really left on a definitive note. And I'm sure I can make it seem like this one is where it continues. Like before I will work on this until it's completed. But I don't see this one divided up into multiple parts. The other stories I talked about from The Grand Finale are still being worked on. However, in addition to this on my Devianart Channel there is another about a group of spies so you can check that out if you want. And also after May the 4th another will be appearing on that same channel. Eventually it will move onto this site. So for now just sit back and enjoy this. This story begins a few days after the last OVA of the anime. So if you want to get a bit more of a catch up, watch the series first.

X

Chapter 1: Festival

The morning came in bright and early in the city of Hikarigaoka and particularly on a treehouse. Or rather what was known as a Garakuta House that was a bit like a complex. That was because four girls and one chaperone lived in it. Or rather these weren't human at all. In fact, all five of these beings were actually from the Netherworld and monsters. But nothing to be scared of at all.

One of them stirred before walking up with a yawn. The sun coming through the blinds was what had caused her to wake up. Except for a green and white striped, long sleeved shirt, this female didn't wear anything to cover her legs. Her skin was tanned and her eyes, the brightest blue. In addition, she had long blonde hair along with three whisker marks on her cheeks. As well as two pointed wolf ears on top of her head, the same color as the hair. And there was also a yellow colored tail right where a humanoid animal with one would have it if such a thing existed. This was Liru, a female werewolf. Which explained why she had the pointed ears, tail, and marks. Yet for some reason she also had regular ears as well.

At least tonight would only be a new moon. Liru, being the kind of creature she was, always knew when the full one would be out to see. Yet somehow was somewhat resilient to the real effects it caused. But any full moon-shaped objects always made her transform into that of a cute yellow puppy. She also had a weakness to silver.

Since coming here Liru and the rest had at least settled in this tree house. But all of them still had a lot to learn about the human world. And that was usually what had been happening; mishaps since all four had arrived. Trying to learn, blend into society, and as well as staying one step ahead of a certain someone. But the biggest had to be finding a boyfriend. That last part certainly hadn't worked out at all. Liru had stated once before her ideal one would be broad and burly rather than cultured. As well as being a werewolf to. But had the willpower to not needlessly transform when he saw something riled him up. As well as being cool, nice, with a smile like a kid's and had the ability to fix her lots of meat.

In any case today was a day that was bright and meant to be out. Even if it was a bit on the chilly side. Just as about Liru was about to get out of the room her door burst open to reveal the other three being led by Uma. This one happened to be the witch. But not a very good one and more like a third rate alchemist. "You up yet?" asked the shorter female, all excited. "We need to get going!"

"How could I forget?" asked the werewolf with a grin. There was a festival going on near their treehouse. The first one they had been to but knew a bit about them.

"I wonder if maybe there will be something to help with the cooking I do," stated Aiko. Not only was she an android but took care of that chore since she didn't need to eat.

"I just want to have fun and maybe snag a hot guy," said Pachira with a grin, showing a bit of white teeth. This last one was a vampire.

It wasn't long before all four girls were out. Normally Liru wore a brown leather harness that went across her breasts, brown fingerless glover with gold-spiked bracelets on them, blue denim shorts cut really low, and white thigh length boots. But this was too cool of weather for that and went for longer cloths but kept the gloves and bracelets on. There were many brightly colored booths showing off things to buy, eat, games to play, all the usual jazz. The girls didn't know where to start first. It was eventually decided to start at one end and work their way up.

A couple of hours latter Liru was walking a bit up the street with the other three when she caught the smell of meat cooking. As a werewolf she loved all kinds. But there was one that could be considered another weakness of hers that was the female's favorite. It was the smell of Matsuzaka Beef. "That smell…" Liru moaned. She was then off like a shot much to the surprise of her friends. The werewolf ducked and dogged through the crowd to reach the meat. It was a bit difficult since there were many. But then at one point Liru bumped into one that was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up and wearing sun glasses. It was a male because the Adam's apple could be seen a bit and could only belong to one and not a woman.

"Sorry!" she called back. "I'm sorry!" Liru kept going on ahead. Unaware this person turned his head a bit to see her running off. A small smile came onto his face. At last he had run into her. But the male didn't go after Liru but continued onto the stall he had been going to.

The rest of the werewolf's friend finally caught up to her to find Liru chowing down on the beef. And seeing that made the witch and vampire realize they were hungry as well. So more food was bought. When it had been consumed it was time for more fun. But near the end of the day, all four went back to their tree house. But as they were doing so Liru turned her head and saw the same male from before that she had bumped into standing in the distance. The male's face turned to hers and for just a brief second his eyes under the shade met the werewolf's. But before the female could move, the other person turned and walked away. There was something about this person that Liru couldn't shake off of her mind. Little did the female know just how much of impact he would make on her life.

X

Author's notes: That's it for the first chapter. Just an intro to get things started and to set things up. Be on the lookout for the next one.

-Co-lord44


	2. Chapter 2

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 2: Beginning Meeting

A few days latter found Liru at the museum as part of her daily life and at the prehistoric mammal section. To see the exhibition they had on wolves. Only as a way to pay respect to the beautiful animal that had once been in Japan. Now there were none in this country. The female werewolf still came here even after the incident with the male named Ryo. And could remember how badly that night with him had gone wrong. Now of course Liru still had her virginity but that one time had left her a bit scared in her mind. At least it hadn't made the female werewolf not interested in finding a guy at all.

Right now her thoughts were only on the animals in the glass case. That is until Liru sensed someone was next to her. Looking to the left found the same male from before. The female was about to freak out thinking it was Ryo because of the shades. But looking closer showed that the face was different, there was a thin one-inch scar on the chin and that the skin was lighter in color. "Sad isn't it?" asked the male. The voice was different as well. "That these beautiful creatures no longer live in here. But they won't go completely extinct from this world though. Perhaps they'll come back here in the future. One way or the other." He began to walk away.

"W-wait a minute!" Liru blurted out, stopping him. "Just who are you?"

"For now I'm nobody." The male didn't turn to face the female. "But if we keep bumping into each other like this perhaps I'll become something more."

"That makes no sense at all!"

"Maybe no to you," he answered with a slight turn of his head so Liru could see the small smirk he wore. The male than walked away but then stopped. "However if you must know… My name is Nicholas."

"I'm Liru," stated the werewolf.

"I'm certain we'll meet again soon." The male then went around the corner, leaving the female with her confused thoughts.

The next night found Liru heading down to her usual area to grab a Pink Rabbit. It was a bit of a rough bar due to the fact that it was entered by a stairway that lead below the street. As well as had fights with two males chained by one of their wrists. The female werewolf got her drink and just sipped at it, thinking about what had happened yesterday. That is until a familiar voice spoke up. 'Yes, I'll have what she's having."

Startled Liru looked up to see none other than Nicholas with the same hoodie. Except this time it was unzipped revealing a cross made of some kind of metal. It wasn't silver though. The shirt was green colored. The sunglasses were still on.

"Wait, Nicholas?" asked the female. The male looked up with a smile.

"Well hey Liru," he stated. "Seems we meet again."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well I came to relax in this place. I didn't realize this was your kind of environment. Of course considering those bracelets you have on that might have given me a clue." Both then turned to the fight at hand. It was over pretty quickly.

"Well I'm sure the one down did his best," said Nicholas. "Although considering what situation they're in, they most likely don't know a real thing or two about combat."

That got Liru's attention. "Wait, you mean you do?"

"Maybe," the male answered with a smirk. He then drank some of the drink he had. "But for now I can't say for sure. Now's not the time. If we keep running into each other like this, then maybe."

The female made no response but also had more of her drink as well. Nicholas then got up since he was through with his. "In any case the night is calling to me. I think I'd better get going. See you around Liru."

She watched him get up and leave through the door before finishing her drink. The female then went home, unaware that this would be only the first of many nights spent with this guy.

X

Author's notes: I didn't realize how short this was. I thought it would be longer.


	3. Chapter 3

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 3: What He Looks Like

The next day came and still only a bit of the moon could be seen at night. Even so this wasn't on Liru's mind at all. Rather it was more on the encounters with Nicholas so far. And yet the female wasn't annoyed by him at all. There was something about the male that she couldn't put her finger on but somehow liked already.

This night however the truck that delivered Ishiyakiimos was going through the area where the treehouse was. These were yams baked on hot-stones. As soon as Liru heard the sound of the announcement of them from the vehicle, werewolf was out of the tree house in a flash. The driver recognized the girl and immediately stopped when he saw her on the side of the road.

The werewolf was about to speak that she wanted one as usual when one of her wolf like ears twitched. The sound of footsteps could be heard by the female. Turning her head she saw Nicholas emerge from around the side of one of the buildings. His usual outfit was on.

"Beautiful night tonight. Don't you think?" he asked the female. "A pity really that you can only see it as a sliver of what it really is." The male looked up to the moon to see that it was just at the beginning on becoming full. Liru looked up as well and saw what he meant. "Mind if I join you for some of that yakiimo? I'll even pay for both." Nicholas then put on a smile; just like that of a kids. Liru couldn't help but blush; it was one of the things she wanted in a boyfriend.

"Uh… sure," the female managed to get out.

"Here, this might make it easier for me to see." The male took off his sunglasses and got out a pair of small, square frame glasses from one of the pockets on his hoodie. Putting these new ones on, and putting the others in the same pocket. Liru could see that his eyes were colored green. "Pick which ever one you want."

After getting which one they wanted both of them sat on the wall behind them just enjoying their treat. "Aw man, this is great!" stated Nicholas after taking a bite. "I'm glad I came over."

"Came over?" asked the werewolf.

"Well I was out for a nightly stroll and happened to be going down this street when I heard the announcement from that truck."

Liru made no reply but continued to eat, stealing glances at him. And overtime she kept finding things she liked about Nicholas. It seemed to happen a lot with her and the girls with any cool or handsome guy. The male quickly finished his food. "That hit the spot!" he stated with a grin; that same one from before. "Nothing like some warm food for a little snack at night."

"Mmm!" Liru agreed with a smile herself. Nicholas saw that and couldn't help but think it made the female even more hot. The werewolf also finished her treat.

"So then, do you live nearby? If not, I can walk you home if you want."

She didn't answer but turned away, blushing hard. "Well…. uh…" Liru was playing with her fingers a bit. "I actually live over there." She pointed to the treehouse.

"Oh that's cool," stated Nicholas. "I didn't know you lived in something like that. I've seen ones like that before. Well in that case I'll take my leave." He began to walk away. But then stopped to look at the female. "I'll see you around Liru." The male then turned a corner, leaving the werewolf sighing happily.

The next night Liru was with the others except for Uma who was in her room reading her manga. They had already eaten dinner but this time the werewolf wasn't into going out. Her thoughts were only about Nicholas. That is until a knock on the door. "Who could it be at this hour?" wondered Aiko out loud.

"Hello?" went a voice that could clearly be heard. "Is anyone home?" Liru actually froze for as second. It was Nicholas. The next thing everyone knew she was at the door and opened it to find the male standing there with his hoodie opened and glasses on. "Well hey Liru."

"Yes… hey…" she breathed as blush took her face. Pachira also felt the blush come onto her face as well. This guy was hot. "Come on in."

"Wow, look at this place," stated the male as he took a look around. He then took his hoodie to reveal that he had brown hair that was long and in a ponytail. "This is quite the place." He then noticed the other two. "Ah this must be your friends. Nice to meet you."

"Yes, this is Aiko and Pachira," commentated the werewolf, able to get back to reality.

"So how did you meet Liru?" asked the vampire, getting up close to Nicholas. A slight blush was on her face.

"Well I spotted her at a festival held not too long ago then we ended up bumping into each other. So I figured I'd pay a visit." He then turned away to look at Liru, ignoring Pachira completely. This caught the werewolf's attention. The last time a guy had come in, the vampire had also tried to get him. But he hadn't ignored her at all. "I hope this isn't a bad time at all."

"Not at all!" the werewolf commented with a smile. "We've eaten already but maybe you'd like something?"

"Sure, I could do with something sweet," stated Nicholas with that kid's like smile. It wasn't long before some cookies were set out for the male. He sampled them and a look of content came on his face; they were good. Liru in the meantime sat next to the male with a soft smile. While Pachira was across and glared at the two with jealousy.

"Well those were good," stated Nicholas as he finished them off. "But now I must go."

"But you just got here!" commented Liru.

"I have other matters to attend to," said the male and looked into the werewolf's eyes with a smile. "Besides I can come every single night if you want. I know where you live after all." He then put on his hoodie. "I'll be see you around latter." Nicholas then took his leave. Little did the three females know that things were about to get a lot more interesting.

X

Author's notes: Hopefully the next chapters will be much longer.


	4. Chapter 4

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 4: Other Friends

Author's notes: Sorry this took longer but I was working on something else. Hopefully chapters will come out more frequently.

X

Well as it turned out Nicholas kept coming over to the house Liru and the others lived at. And yet no matter what the others did he only had his attention on the female werewolf. Which left the vampire in the group getting more and more jealous. The witch on the other hand could see after a bit that she was going after a lost cause and gave up.

But then one day a couple weeks later found Liru out. The moon was getting closer to being full but this wasn't going to be a problem at all. The female made it to a park and was just about to head down the street when she saw Nicholas talking with another guy. This new guy was a bit taller than him but had skin that was paler which only added to his handsome features. In addition the eye color was a light blue along with long light colored hair and was wearing clothes that hinted at being rich. The two noticed her.

"Well hey Liru!" stated Nicholas and waved to her. The female went right on over. "Nice to see you again."

"Same," she responded with a slight blush. The werewolf then looked to see the other male. "Who's this?"

"Oh this is Napoleon."

"Charmed to meet you," stated the other male, the sun light flashing off of perfect white teeth. "I figured we'd meet. Especially since I've heard quite a bit about you from Nicholas over here."

"I didn't say that much," the one with glasses responded with a mock punch to Napoleon's arm. "But maybe a little. What brings you out here Liru?"

"Just a walk," she managed to answer. True this new guy was good looking, but something about him made the werewolf think he wasn't her type. But then again maybe this new person could work for Pachira. And keep her away from Nicholas. As for the walk it was to find the perfect place to set up camp for when the full moon came out. But she wasn't going to say this.

"Nothing like a little walk in the day time to clear your mind," Napoleon stated. "Of course nighttime strolls are better."

"Perhaps maybe that will happen latter," Nicholas said. "Listen, you think maybe if it's alright if I bring Napoleon over tonight Liru? I'm sure Pachira would like it."

The female went silent. True it might keep the vampire away from Nicholas, but how would the others take to this new guy? Of course what was the point of life if you didn't try out things or take risks every now and then? "Well I guess it's alright. I'll just have to let them know first."

"Sounds good," stated the first male. After a few more parting words the female werewolf left.

"So that was here you mentioned," Napoleon stated. "Although what about her other friends? Are any of them cute?"

"You're just going to have to see when come with me tonight," Nicholas replied. "But I don't think you'll be disappointed."

The night came and Liru was humming happily. Not only because Nicholas was coming over, but so was Napoleon. Hopefully, making Pachira focus on the other male. A knock on the door then happened. The female ran to get it, which drew the attention of the other three. They had been told both males were coming. The first male smiled as usual.

"Good evening," he stated. "Glad I could come back."

"Well it's always nice to have you," Liru replied with a slight blush. Napoleon then stepped in.

"Quite a living space," he stated, looking around. This time he was in black cloths that were a little gothic but still hinted at being rich. "I never thought something like this would be possible."

The female vampire in the group was instantly in front of the two males, her eyes on Napoleon. This one was in her usual outfit. "Welcome," she stated in a lovely voice with blush also on her face. "Are you the second one?"

"I am," said Napoleon with a smile. "Although I didn't expect to run into such a lovely young lady." This caused Pachira to go even redder.

"I… I'm not…" she began.

"On the contrary you are," he replied and took the female vampire's right hand, kissing the top in a gentlemanly fashion. It caused her to instantly gain a crush on Napoleon. Liru and Nicholas in the meantime saw this and looked to each other with a smile. They could see the connection that had been made. Uma and Aiko on the other hand just began to get stuff out for dinner. Soon everyone was at their seats. It was during this that they learned that Napoleon was more of a vegetarian. He would eat a little meat, but not as much as his friend.

The talk then turned a bit to what the two guys liked to do. It turned out the second male was quite rich like Pachira hoped. Nicholas ended up living with him but was looking around for a place of his own. Along with two others that hadn't been seen yet. The place was actually not that far away from the tree house. "If you want I can give you directions to visit," said Napoleon with a smile to the female vampire.

"Now wait, maybe the others should get an introduction as well," commented Nicholas. "I think it's only fair. Of course none of you have to say yes now and can think it over." While Aiko and Uma weren't so sure Liru and Pachira were up for it right away. The guys then left the house to allow the four to talk about it. In the end the android and witch decided to go with their friends. The directions were given and to the four's surprise a vehicle came to get them. It was a limo and they were told it had been sent from Napoleon. This gave Pachira even more hope that the guy was someone she wanted to have as a boyfriend. The ride took them through the city eventually going to the outskirts where they could see a mansion of some kind. One that had fountains and gardens behind a gate and fences.

"Wow, look at this!" the female vampire stated. The others didn't know what to think since they had never been to one of those. Not unless you count the one time they had all been captured. The limo drove up to the huge front doors. The four got out and a butler was already there and waiting for them. He opened up the door. They all stepped into the foyer. The females could see that there were two sets of steps that went up to a second floor. There was also a door on the ground level.

The butler led the way to the second floor. There was a door to the left and a bigger one that going in lead to the pallor. The females were told to wait and that the others would be with them shortly. They couldn't help but wonder if it would just be Nicholas and Napoleon or others with them. Luckily there were sweets and other things to snake on while waiting. But then ten minutes later Nicholas and Napoleon came in. They were accompanied by two others. One was one that wore glasses like the first male, but were rounded. He also looked like the scholarly type with the white dress shirt, pants, and tie. The final one had a bit of fare skin with grey hair and eyes that matched.

"Well I see you made it just fine," stated Nicholas. Napoleon nodded with a smile. "Let me introduce our other friends. This is Cosmo." The other one with glasses nodded with a smile. "And Logan." The other one nodded. Aiko's eyes lingered a bit on Cosmo. Here was someone that looked a bit what she wanted in a boyfriend. Uma on the other hand thought at first that Logan was the grey haired boy on the beach that the girls had tried to hook up with a mermaid. But on second look, this guy was different.

"I see the princess has made it to my castle," said Napoleon with a smile to Pachira. He made his way to her and kissed the top of her right hand. The female vampire felt her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

"Now, now Napoleon," commented Cosmo. His voice made him sound smart. "Don't be so forward with her."

"Oh come on, let him have his fun," stated Logan. "Especially since we know how to have it and show others how to."

"Perhaps latter," said Nicholas. "Maybe we can start by showing you around here. Would you like that?"

"Sure!" Liru answered. The group of eight then got up. Of course there were other rooms in here but those were bedrooms and other places that didn't need to be shown. However the four were shown the ball room much to Pachira's delight, the conservatory, the rec room where the guys did workout, the game room where video games to regular ones were played, the astral hall and observatory that Cosmo liked to use to study the stars and planets, the artist studio where Nicholas did his art, the library and study, the greenhouse, nursery, and botany lab that Logan used to grow plants since he had a love for them, his garden, and the pool.

All of these were impressive, but there were some that stuck out more towards one of the females. Liru was surprised to see that Nicholas was an artist but liked his work. It certainly looked good and you could see that he put a lot of passion in it. Some of the other things the four had never seen before. The males just grinned and allowed them to look and even showed them how something worked. The tour took so long that it became lunch time. They all settled into the dining room. Servants came out with the food. But then the females noticed that Cosmo didn't eat. When asked, he responded he wasn't hungry. The same was for Aiko who didn't need to eat since she was an android after all.

As the group ate Pachira noticed that Napoleon only ate the veggies and other non-meat items. But didn't touch the meat this time. "You certainly eat healthy," she whispered.

"Well I think it's the best way to keep healthy," he answered with a grin. "But that's just me. The others over there like both." Nicholas and Logan were having both produce and meat. The one with the ponytail more so.

"This is so good!" Liru stated as she dug into the meat. It wasn't her favorite of all time, but was pretty close to it.

"I'm glad you like it," Nicholas said. "But you should at least throw some healthy things into it to make a more balanced meal."

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt," the female werewolf replied. So she did and found it did make her food even better.

"You don't eat?" asked Aiko to Cosmo as they watched their friends.

"I'll take care of it latter," he answered. "There's always some left over anyways. If you and your friends want to take some home, you're free to do so."

"Thank you, that's kind of you."

Uma and Logan were also in their own conversation. "I didn't think you'd be into garden at all," said the female witch.

"Well it's not just for women," he responded with a shrug. "Just like say playing a piano isn't just for them. Men have played it as well."

When the meal was finished it was time for the four to head back. "Don't worry, you can come latter," said Nicholas after seeing the looks on their faces. "We'll come over and arrange something for the next day. Eventually you can come here at any time once you've learned where this is."

"Sure!" Liru answered with a grin. The others all smiled. They then left unaware the males were smiling.

"So that was them huh?" asked Logan.

"Well I certainly liked Aiko," said Cosmo.

"They're all wonderful, but Pachira especially," stated Napoleon.

"We're all allowed to have our own opinions," commented Nicholas. "But be prepared. The time may come soon when they learned more about us. About what we truly are." And those words were going to come true soon in the future.


	5. Chapter 5

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 5: Humor and Beginnings

The days quickly passed by but not months just yet. The guys kept seeing the girls. Sometimes they would all come, or a couple depending on how busy they were. "Yeah we've got our own lives," stated Nicholas when asked and then let out a mock gasp. "Shocking, I know!" But the females understood. The male with the ponytail always came over no matter what. And for that the female werewolf liked. Already everything about him made her happy. Nicholas of course was happy to see Liru all the time. Already he liked her a lot. Of course the male would keep quiet and get to know the female better first. For now just talking and interacting with the werewolf was enough to make Nicholas be patient until he could maybe be involved with her romantically. After all both did have quite a few interests in common. And Liru did like the art he did. They could be perfect for each other.

When it came to Pachira she only focused on Napoleon now. He was such a gentleman and knew how to treat her like a lady. The guy was charming and seemed to always have a reason to smile. It made her happy in return. And the female vampire wanted to share it with him. The others on the other hand weren't quite there yet having not known each other for as long. Of course the females also went over to the guy's house. They loved the time spent with them and seeing the guys doing some of their favorite things. Liru loved to watch Nicholas draw and color to music. Pachira loved to see Napoleon as he practice on his violin. As for Aiko and Uma they were quickly getting use to Napoleon and Cosmo. Of course they all got to experience new things they hadn't before. Like the internet since they didn't have a computer However things would begin to come to a head.

It all started at the pool. The females but Aiko were there and in different bathing suits than the time they had gone to the beach. Liru, Uma, and Pachira were on rafts in the deep end because they couldn't swim. They were waiting for Nicholas, Napoleon, and Logan. At least the female werewolf didn't think the guys would notice her wolf like ears and tail. "Well I certainly hope Napoleon likes what I have on," stated the female vampire. It was more to colors she liked.

"Oh?" asked Uma. "And what if he notices that you can't do as much like that one time on the beach?" The witch was refereeing to how she had acted like a love struck little girl and teased Pachira about having a small chest. The female vampire snapped since this was one thing that bothered her. From her right hand long pink colored nails came out and sliced through Uma's raft. The thing began to leak air fast and the female went under quickly. The which surfaced and grabbed the one Liru was on. "Are you trying to kill me?!" she yelled at the vampire.

Pachira smirked and went back to relaxing. Only to find that Uma had stuck the end of her wand in the vampire's raft. It popped and the other female went into the water like a stone. She came up and clung onto the floatation device Liru was on. "What is your problem?!" she shouted.

"You started it!" the witch snapped back. The two females began to get at the other, shaking the raft the werewolf was on.

"HEY!" she yelled. "What are you two doing?! Hey stop that!"

"What the hell is going on in here?!" came an angry voice. The three females stopped and looked to see Nicholas, Napoleon, and Logan looking cross at this scene. Cosmo was the only one not joining since he stated he had other things to do. And Aiko didn't want to reveal her special suit to help her get into the water. The one with longer light colored hair shook his head.

"I can't believe you Pachira," he stated. "A lady shouldn't be fighting like this over a petty squabble."

"Uma started it!" the female vampire complained. "She made fun of the fact that I have a small chest!"

"Enough," said Nicholas in a loud, stern tone. "What's the point of coming over for fun if we're just going to fight? Now why don't one of you hand some things to Uma and Pachira so they come over to the shallow end?"

Logan did so and both the witch and vampire came over looking a bit in shame for having such a petty fight. Liru did as well to see what would happen. "Now that we're through with that, perhaps we can have fun instead," stated the male who had a ponytail. He then undid it and the dark brown hair flowed out. The werewolf just looked on with love in her eyes. The guys then took off the shirts they had on, plus the other things that wouldn't be need for swimming. Nicholas definitely had the most obvious muscles. But the other two still looked to be in great shape.

They all jumped in with a happy shout, splashing the three females with water. Uma and Pachira shielded their faces but with a laugh. Liru fell off her raft and quickly resurfaced to find Nicholas near her. The werewolf blushed but smiled as she looked up to his face. The guy was taller than her after all. He in the meantime liked the pure white bikini she had on which showed off her body. "So then, maybe you'd like to see who can get to the other side?" he asked.

The female looked to where he was pointing. "No thanks."

"You're not afraid that you'll lose?"

"It's more than that," Liru responded and looked away with shame. Nicholas was able to catch it.

"You can tell me. I won't laugh, I promise."

"I can't swim," the werewolf answered with a tone to match her shameful look.

"You mean you were never taught?" The female shook her head. "Hey, don't worry about that." The male placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Liru to look up and blush hard. "I can teach you. I know how to after all and it's a great thing to know how to do. I think considering how old you are it will be more of a mental than a physical thing to overcome."

"Well…" said Liru and then trailed off.

"Here, let's just try something simple," commented Nicholas. "Follow me." Both went to one end of the shallow area. The werewolf could see her friends were also taken by another of the males. Perhaps they were going to learn as well. "Now then I want you to just submerge your body into the water to get use to it. Think of it like diving in a bath."

The female looked down towards the water and swallowed to calm her nerves. Liru kept telling herself that Nicholas would help her out if something happened. The werewolf closed her eyes and with a breath, the female went under. Unlike the time at the beach her feet were able to touch the ground, allowing Liru to quickly go back up to the surface. And this time something about being underwater felt good. The werewolf came back up and shook her head like a dog, spraying Nicholas with water droplets. He laughed and used his arms as a shield. "Well how did that go?" he asked.

"Not bad," Liru answered.

"Good. Now then I want you to practice kicking with just your legs."

The lesson went smoothly and both of them were having a blast. At certain points Nicholas had to place his hands on her body in order to help. Every time the female felt her heart was going to thump out of her chest. He also couldn't help but love the feel of her legs, arms, and midsection on his hands. The time passed quickly and before anyone knew it, it was time for the females to leave. But they would be back soon.

These lessons in the pool continued. Liru was the first to learn and could now spend the time diving and chasing after Nicholas in the water. The guy of course was stronger and the better swimmer. But that didn't mean the female didn't try. He in turn would keep surprising the werewolf and come in close, touching his forehead to hers before swimming away. It left Liru breathless and the feeling from long ago to pop up in her body and mind. And it seemed to grow overtime she saw him. This came to a head a few months later after meeting the guys.

Liru and Nicholas got out of the pool since it was time to eat something. The werewolf had become a stronger and faster swimmer. Her friends were catching up though. "So how does it feel to finally be near my level?" asked the male.

"I'm just glad to get in the water," she answered. The bikini was different this time.

"Well at least now you shouldn't drown if your friends grab your raft and tip you in." Nicholas grabbed a towel and began to dry his hair. Liru just blushed as she saw the way his body moved while doing this. That feeling was popping up again.

"Come on, let's get something to eat." His voice snapped the werewolf back to reality. She just followed him in a daze, going over in her mind everything she knew about the guy. Nicholas just seemed so… perfect.

The food time went smoothly enough. Liru didn't talk as much but everyone else did. It was then time to leave but the werewolf was slower than her other friends. Mainly to talk to Nicholas a bit more. "You feeling okay?" he asked with concern.

"Well… um… yes," stated the female while blushing hard. Liru was playing with her fingers in a nervous way.

"I hope you've had fun. And I'll make sure there are more," the male stated softly. The two looked deep into the other's eyes.

"I should probably get going." The werewolf turned to leave.

"Wait Liru." She turned back and his lips got the female on the forehead. "Keep safe." Both could see how badly the other was blushing. The werewolf just walked back in a daze, touching the spot that had been kissed. And smiling deeply to herself. And knew what the feeling was that had been popping up in her body all this time.

"I really like him…" she whispered. Nicholas was a perfect guy to be with as a boyfriend. Liru just didn't know how much so.

X

These feelings she had for him just kept growing over the course of the next week. And wondering if Nicholas felt the same way as she did. The werewolf would just daydream about the male, of him taking her into his arms, loving her, lips against hers. Liru could only just imagine for now. But was unaware that the same male couldn't help but like her back in that way. One night the werewolf was out for a nightly stroll in order to clear her head of the many thoughts that had been popping up. And so she decided to head to the park. Unaware that things were going to get interesting. Liru settled on a bench next to a light pole and let out a sigh. The doubt would always be there of whether Nicholas felt the same way back.

Suddenly a voice spoke, shattering the silence of the night. "Why so serious? And considering how you used to be so quite." Liru's blood went cold; she remembered it well. Standing up and whirling around she saw none other than Ryo. The same hair, outfit, and shades. The one werewolf she thought she would never see again. "Is this what happens after time has passes?"

"What do you want?" asked the female in a cold voice.

"Now is that any way to treat one of your own kind?"

"My kind?!" Liru snarled. "After that night I don't consider you to be that!"

Ryo got closer. "You saw my transformation. We are the same kind. You can't deny it."

"Keep away from me!" The female was ready to fight.

"I don't want to fight you. Besides I think we both know I'm stronger than you."

"Don't push me Ryo!" Liru began to take some steps back but the male got closer. To the point he could actually touch her. She swatted his hand away, but this quickly was replaced by another.

"GET YOUR FUCKING HAND OFF OF HER NOW RYO!" another male voice yelled out. Both werewolf's looked up to see Nicholas standing there with his face twisted with anger. Liru was stunned by this. It made the long haired male seem less human; and more like that of a wolf. But it was more than just anger in that face; the looks of jealousy and protectiveness. In that moment the female felt a spark of fear in her body.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Ryo. Then his eyes widened in shock. Just as the clouds moved out of the way. The moon was only half full, but it shown bright tonight. "Wait… Nicholas?"

"You… two know each other?" the female whispered. The male werewolf let go of her.

"I think the little lady has made it quite clear she doesn't want you around."

"Mind your own business if you know what's good for you," Ryo growled.

"It is my business," Nicholas snarled. "Now get loss."

The other male didn't answered but moved with his fist ready. Liru feared for the long haired guy only to find that he had caught the blow with his right fist. And looking closer saw that the color of the skin had changed. It was now brown like his hair, slightly bigger, and clawed. This shocked the female again. "I see you've gotten better," Nicholas stated. "But not nearly enough!" The next thing the other werewolf's knew, Ryo had been thrown forward and onto his back with a lot of force. The male werewolf got up and ran for it. The other one let out a breath and turned to look at Liru. "Hey, you okay?"

She just stared at him. Right now the female didn't know what to think. How Nicholas had come out of nowhere and saved her. But also the transformation of his hand. "Oh, here, just a sec," he stated. Nicholas looked at his hand that had transformed. With a flex the claws retreated, the part of the body went to normal size, and was no longer brown.

"You… How did you do that?" Liru whispered. "You're not human… are you?"

"No, I'm not. I hope seeing that isn't a problem." The female just looked into Nicholas's eyes. The ones she had already like a lot. It didn't matter if the male wasn't human; he was still the same guy. Nothing that would happen was going to change that.

"It doesn't matter," stated the werewolf. She couldn't help and touch the side of his face. The male just blushed. "Because no matter whatever you really are, I know the real you. And… I need to thank you." Liru leaned up and kissed Nicholas on the cheek. The guy went even redder. "Have a goodnight…"

"You as well," he responded. "Especially as the moon gets bigger." The guy pointed up with his right hand. Liru then spotted another piece of jewelry on him. It was a necklace like chain. Attached to it was a strange symbol. The top of it went to the sides and curved inward while the bottom part came down in a diamond like shape with a hole in the middle. The male then walked off with Liru staring after him. She had no idea just how much more the feelings for Nicholas were going to grow.


	6. Chapter 6

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 6: Leading Up and Revealing

What had happened with Ryo and Nicholas was all Liru could think about. And what it meant. Especially with the long haired male's hand transforming like that. The necklace that had been revealed was only a small thing but something about it stuck in the female's mind. However, this was something she didn't feel like sharing with the others. At least not yet.

As it got closer to the full moon the werewolf was distracted by it since being one was one that the female always kept track of. However, this one wouldn't be shared with her friends since the last one had been the first full one of the month. They always did that together. But this one would be fun viewing at the highest point in the city. Liru wished she could show Nicholas it even after being showed that transformation. But the female couldn't reveal her true nature yet until maybe after the male knew her a lot better. She didn't want to drive him away.

The werewolf in the meantime kept a close eye on the guy with long hair as the days went by with seeing him and the others. Nicholas didn't seem to act too differently; even with her. What Liru didn't realize was that he was trying to figure something out to tell her and when. The only question was how she was going to take it. Saving her from Ryo should've been enough right? The female clearly had met him before. And the thought of it made Nicholas growl with the feeling of jealousy and protectiveness come out. The thought of Liru being with someone else was enough to drive him mad.

As for the rest of the friends nothing else unusual was going on. Well maybe not quite. Napoleon was beginning to wear even more black as of late that hinted even more darker and gothic design. Not in a bad way, but one that could be noticed. Logan also was beginning to show some different things. Ones that were more related to magic. Regular ones but others that seemed to be too real to be fake. Then there was Cosmo who showed that he was great with machines but seemed to wear wristbands that were made of metal that seemed to really be a part of him. And it was enough to notice by all the females. But only Nicholas's hand being changed had been only seen by Liru.

Even with these new things the girls and guys kept seeing each other. By this point Uma and Pachira had fully learned to swim and now they along with the werewolf, Nicholas, Napoleon, and Logan would have fun in the water. Aiko and Cosmo still didn't join them but kept doing stuff like fixing machines and making the others food. The guy also kept introducing new things to the girls as well. Even so the females could tell something big was coming and that it was going to change their lives.

Then during the week before the full moon would come, Liru decided to throw the idea to Nicholas. She had been working up the courage to ask him it. The werewolf kept thinking that since it would be the two of them together, it was a date. The idea made her heart go into overtime. But then he did something that surprised her. The girls were about to leave, and Nicholas and Liru were having a few last words. "It's nice you came over again," he said.

"Yes," she answered, blushing, and playing with her fingers. The werewolf then looked up into his face. "Nicholas… Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. Although I wanted to also ask you something as well. Maybe I should go first." The female nodded. "Liru, I was wondering…" The male paused a minute and blushed a bit. Her eyes lit up with hope.

"Yes?" asked the werewolf.

"If maybe… you'd like to see the full moon with me when it comes," Nicholas concluded. Liru couldn't believe it; it was the same thing she wanted to ask the male. And couldn't help but hug him.

"Yes! I would love to!" the female responded. "I wanted to ask you that as well!"

"Then we've got a date," stated Nicholas with a grin. The werewolf's face burned red with the thought of it and her heart beat was fast. "I'll let you know about the details latter, okay?" The werewolf was so happy all she could do was nod and kiss him on the cheek before walking away. The two were the happiest they had been yet.

The time came quickly and it found Liru waiting on the roof of the tallest building in the city. The were clouds in the sky but it wasn't quite time for night to fall. According to Nicholas, this was going to clear in a bit. The female looked around again for the tenth time but didn't see him. She let out a sigh but then looked up to see the guy standing there. "Hey, you're early," commented Nicholas with a smile. "And I thought I was going to be here first."

Liru was up in a flash and by his side. Her tail was wagging back and forth. "Really? I thought I was late."

"Not at all," the male responded. "He then went to the side so now both were facing the other way. Just like it had been before. But this time he meant the female no harm. "So… shall we go?"

While Nicholas didn't state where they were going, Liru had no trouble following him. The location happened to be at another hotel. But one that was friendlier, more expensive, and cleaner than the last time. The male got a room and the two stepped into the elevator. Going up the werewolf could see that the nightlife of the city was beginning to com on. She could see how beautiful it was and hadn't imagine something like this was possible. The male smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Liru to jump and blush as she looked into his eyes. "Like it?" he asked. "I figured our date would be perfect with this. Even though it's mainly to tell you something." The female just sighed happily and leaned into his body.

They made it to their floor and got out. It wasn't the long of a walk to the door. Nicholas slid the card key in and directed the werewolf inside. The room was the fanciest she'd ever seen. "Wow…" the female whispered and took a look around. The male looked to make sure there wasn't anyone following them before coming in with her. The guy was on high alert just to be safe.

"So then, I'm sure you might want something to eat. I can order if you like while you take a shower or something. It shouldn't take too long."

"Sure, thanks," Liru responded and got into the bathroom. She had brought an extra change of cloths since Nicholas stated that it was possible they might be elsewhere all night. While the male hadn't said it was a hotel the werewolf made sure she was prepared. However, unlike that last time with Ryo she was on guard. And although she really liked Nicholas already, she wasn't ready to give herself to him. Not after that night with the male werewolf.

When she got out the food was already up and Nicholas was putting the finishing touches at the table. He looked up with a smile. "There you are," he commented. "You look beautiful right now." Liru felt her heart was going to burst out of her chest at that comment. "Here, I got stuff I think you'll like."

The werewolf looked and her mouth watered at the smell of the meat and other food. She took a seat and both of them began to eat. Although they mostly stayed quite, trying to figure out what was going on in the other's mind. A bit latter the food was in them and the female let out a happy sigh. "I think that had to be some of the best stuff I've eaten."

"I'm glad you liked it," Nicholas commented. He then got up and went to the window. Her eyes followed him. "So… I guess you're wondering how we're going to see the full moon. But there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Talk to me about? What do you mean?"

The male didn't speak at first but went to the curtains in the room. "Tell me, do you remember that exhibit we saw of those wolves?"

"Yes," Liru answered.

"All the wolves in this country became extinct years ago. But unlike them we aren't destined to become extinct just like that. I could tell from the moment I ran into you you're like me."

"Like me?" asked the female. And then it clicked. "Wait! You can't mean…?"

"Yes," Nicholas answered and threw the curtains open. The light of the full moon came streaming into the room. "The reason I know Ryo because I to am a werewolf like you."

The male crossed his arms and arched backwards. He grew bigger in size, but the clothes didn't rip. The skin transformed into the brown from before. The head became more wolf like and the hair became a part of it with. The second piece of jewelry could be seen around his neck like the first one. The eyes however remand the same. And now his frame blocked most of the moonlight. Liru just sat there in shock, but at the same time couldn't help but fall for the male werewolf even more. Here was another thing she wanted in a boyfriend. Nicholas was even more perfect.

"So… impressive isn't it?" he asked. The voice was a bit deeper, but hadn't changed that much. "I hope this isn't a bad thing."

"It's not," the female whispered and got up to stand face to face with the guy. "How could it ever be?"

"Although I should mention this isn't the only form I have."

"There's another? I thought werewolves only had one."

"Perhaps that is because you've yet to obtain yours Liru. This one you see isn't exactly the best for traveling fast and quickly. Which is why this is needed." The form of Nicholas sifted and standing in front of the female at almost the same height was a beautiful brown furred colored wolf. The moonlight was now able to hit her more. "Show me yours."

The female felt her body change and in just a second a yellow puppy with the golden-spiked bracelets around the front paws was before him. Nicholas went right up to her smaller form with a wolfish grin on his muzzle. "Well it seems you've got quite an adorable form." The male werewolf playfully nosed the female and gave her a quick lick. Liru giggled and blushed but hopped onto the top of Nicholas's larger head. He let out a chuckle as she settled right there.

"Eventually you will have to learn how to achieve your second form," he stated. "But for now, I think it's time for us to sleep. Just know that I can achieve these transformations without the full moon at times. Just as you will learn how to as well."

"Can I ask you something?"

"I believe you have already, but you may with one more thing."

"Was this what you wanted to tell me? And why?"

"It was," answered Nicholas. "And the reasons I will fully tell you tomorrow. But just know that for now Ryo isn't the biggest thing you need to worry about. Now let's get some sleep."

"Goodnight," Liru whispered. The two then settled down. Both happy and warm in their hearts and minds.

X

Author's notes: Now the reason there's going to be two forms is mainly because the werewolves need a way to run fast in one situation, but another for fighting.


	7. Chapter 7

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 7: Capture

The morning light came streaming in. It hit the two werewolves who hadn't changed back into human form yet. Liru was pretty cozy on top of Nicholas's head. But she stirred first and woke up with a yawn. Looking down saw the male was also awake. "Sleep well?" he asked.

"Like a pup," she responded and licked his forehead with happiness. The male blushed but smiled. "I didn't think staying in the same room with a guy would turn out this great. Even though it was my first time."

"I don't think you can count this one because honestly when people mean that Liru they mean sharing the same bed. What we've done is more like what could be a sleep over." What she said stuck in his mind though. Now the male knew that this female was a virgin and hadn't slept with a guy before.

"So what's the plan for today?" she asked.

"Well first thing first, let's get back to our normal forms." This only took a second for Nicholas but it took her a bit to do so. The male smiled. "You will learn to do it quickly; for now this will do."

"Why though? Why is it necessary?" she asked.

The male didn't speak at first, but regarded her. "Let's just say that just like with humans not all vampires, werewolves, witches, and androids are good. There are those that go bad as one can get. And there have been whispers of a shadow that has been growing steadily strong. Something that will threaten not just monsters but humans as well. That's what I've taken upon myself to do; to stop these threats." He pulled out the second necklace. "This happens to be one of the tools used to stopping such evil. It's known as the Angelic Power or Enkeli Ruin. All who fight this have things like this. With it weapons and attacks are imbued with angelic properties that can wipe clean of eve traces, and prevent evil beings from healing. There are others, but this is the first you'll see."

Liru just looked at it with greater interest. "And what about the other necklace you have?" the female then asked. "Does that have any powers?"

"No, that's just something I like to wear. And also before you ask, my friends do know about my true form and what I've told you so far. There's more but for now this will do. I hope that's fine." She nodded with a smile.

"So then, what about this training you mentioned?"

"That will have to happen back at my place. There's a room for combat and training which will help you. Come on." The werewolves left the hotel and headed back to the mansion. Along the way at one point Liru couldn't help but hug Nicholas.

"By the way I never got to thank you last night for the date. Even though you showed that I had a fun time with you."

"I had fun as well," he responded and gave the female a squeeze back. She couldn't help but blush at the feel of his strong arms holding her. "So then…. maybe latter on we could do more of them? How does that sound?"

"I would love that." The two then got to the mansion before anything else could be said or done. They got inside.

Since Liru needed to do this it was decided for the time being she would live at the mansion. This had to be talked over with the chaperone who had come with the girls. Although Nicholas couldn't see by expression due to being invisible, her tone made it seem that this was alright. However, nothing was mentioned about this to the other three females. The male werewolf figured that since it wasn't important yet, there was no need to mention it. But in time it would be. The two spent their time in a place that had workout machines, and a space for combat practice. Next to this was a simulator area. The female had no problem with speed already. Only a bit of improvement was needed there. The real one was in actual combat. Liru began to be taught on how to deal with bigger and stronger opponents. Using their strength, speed, and momentum against them. And then there were the transformations training. That was one that the female had the most trouble with. And it left her panting and sweating.

"Don't worry about it," stated Nicholas. "This isn't something you can get quickly. It will take time. Some parts of it more than others. But you've been making tremendous progress in just the past two days. Ryo wouldn't stand a chance against you now."

"He wouldn't?" she asked after catching her breath. Both werewolves sat down.

"You're already stronger than any human. Now you're getting to the point that you can deal with the monsters who strength goes up to medium. But there are those that are far stronger. This training will help you handle those ones."

"Do you think that maybe the rest of my friends should be warned about this?" asked Liru.

The male considered her a moment. "When the time is right they will be told. Since you and them are in no immediate danger, and believe me I know when that will be, then we can tell them."

"Okay. Although I bet they can't help but notice by now I'm not living where they are."

"I wouldn't put it past them since it's been two days already. If you do run into them when they come visit just make something up."

And his words were right. Pachira was pacing back and forth in the main room of the tree house. Her steps kept getting faster and irritated. But Uma and Aiko didn't seem to notice. Finally the vampire snapped. "Seriously, what is Liru playing at?!"

"I'm sorry did you say something?" asked the witch and looked up from the manga she was reading.

"Haven't you noticed that Liru is nowhere to be found?!"

"I'm sure she's fine. She's probably with Nicholas or something."

"That's not the problem!" Pachira shouted. "Why should we be stuck here to take some lessons and she's not part of it?!"

"Pachira…" Aiko mumbled, trying to help. The vampire began to head towards the door.

"Well I'll just see what she's doing." Pachira left in a huff. And wasn't watching where she was going, running straight into Napoleon. It was like running into a solid brick wall.

"Oh hey Pachira," stated the male. "You okay?" The vampire nodded hastily, fighting the mad blush that had come onto her face. "So what brings you out and about?"

"I'm trying to find Liru. She hasn't been at our place in two days."

"Well maybe-" began Napoleon but then stopped to turn. His nose sniffed the air. "Wait… something's not right."

"What do you mean?" asked Pachira. "I don't see anything."

"Pachira, get behind me," the male whispered and moved her with his hands. The vampire blushed hard, but could sense what he was feeling when they made contact. "Who's out there?"

There was no answer but now the female felt that something wasn't right. Suddenly she heard the sound of a whizzing object. The next thing the vampire knew was that something had got her in the neck. And felt weak before blacking out. Napoleon whipped around to help her but got hit as well. The guy was out like a light. Suddenly two figures in black cloaks came out of hiding. They picked the two up and took them to a van. The vehicle then drove off.

Well this didn't take long to go unnoticed by Cosmo and Logan. And they realized that Uma and Aiko were most likely in danger as well. But they also didn't get far before the same thing happened to them. Nicholas and Liru were the only ones left. And didn't realize that something was wrong yet. The two were heading up from the combat room. The female was feeling more confident in how the training was going. "Did you see the way I was able to dodge what you threw at me?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, you're improving quite fast," Nicholas responded. "I figure it shouldn't be much longer until it's finished and we tell your friends. Of course they will also have to go through their own type of training since it will be needed in order for them to survive."

But when the two got to the dining room, they saw that the other three weren't there. "Uh-oh…" the male mumbled.

"Wait, where are they?" asked Liru.

"I fear that the worst has happened," Nicholas muttered. He turned to the female. "Liru, I think the time has come to put those skills of yours to the test. I fear that our friends have been captured by someone. And probably yours as well."

"You mean kidnapped? By who?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out soon. Luckily finding them should be the easy part. Even if we have to go halfway around the world, it will happen."

"How?" asked the female. "They could be anywhere."

"It won't be hard to track them down. Just leave it to me."

The male made good on his word and got the location. To Liru's surprise he then met up with her again really quickly but came armed with a katana and a few other weapons. "Is this necessary?" the female asked weakly.

"We don't know what's going to be in there," Nicholas stated with a shrug. "And I like to go prepared a bit."

The two werewolves were out in a flash. The male and Liru were in a car that he stated belonged to him. The ride went out towards a deserted part of the city where there was nothing but woods. And storm clouds began to gather as they got closer. The vehicle then pulled out and they could see a mansion. One that had a creepy factor to it. "Go figure," Nicholas muttered to himself as both of them got out. The female couldn't help but remember what had happened the last time she went to a mansion like this. He then noticed the look on her face. "Something wrong?"

Liru had no choice but to tell him about it. The male made no comment about that but was doing some hard thinking. Both got to the door which was unlocked for some reason. As soon as it opened, the female caught the whiff of something. "Do you smell that?" she asked.

"Yeah," answered Nicholas.

"It smells like… Matsuzaka Beef!" Before she could take one step, she was pulled back by him.

"Have you got any sense at all?!" the male growled. "That's obviously bait to catch you like last time!"

"But I want it," Liru whined and gave him sad puppy eyes.

"I don't think so miss," Nicholas responded gently. "Tell you what; if we save them, I'll cook you some when we get back, okay?"

"You know how to make it?" The female couldn't believe it.

"Sure, along with other types of meat." She was so happy Liru couldn't help but hug the male and kiss his cheek.

"I would love that!" she exclaimed. Both couldn't help but blush.

"Yeah, and also now I'm sure everyone in here heard that." The female got a look on her face that she'd messed up. "Don't worry; that makes things more interesting. Let's move."

The first area was the foyer. And while it looked nice a sense of something not right about this place could be felt. Nicholas led the way forward to one of the doors on this floor. The male seemed to have a good sense as to what to do. Because the path the two took lead to a switch that when pulled caused the sound of some bar like doors on the second floor to unlock. The stairs that lead to them were right in the foyer. Going up lead to a place that required Liru to jump and head on ahead. It didn't take her long to get back to the first floor and open the door that went to a dining room. The search in the room beyond that got them a diary that had nothing in it but a sheet that had a password on it. Two more of these were found and used in a computer found on the first floor. A door opened up to reveal some stairs leading to the lower levels. Nicholas was in the lead and on high alert. "Get ready to move at any moment," he whispered to Liru. "There could be traps set up."

The two kept going down the stairs and reached the lower levels. To their surprise these weren't murky and dark, but rather clean and bright. The second the first step was taken in the male heard the faint sound of something being shot. He shoved the female back and his katana came out, deflecting two projectiles. She let out a startled shout. Nicholas's heart and hers was racing. "What…?" Liru asked. The male pointed and she could see some kind of gleaming metal needles.

"Silver to weaken us," he explained. "Keep your guard up."

They then turned a corner and found themselves in a square room that was quite large. The male and female walked in, eyes looking around. "Hmm… I sense something isn't right," stated Nicholas. He suddenly growled. Liru got the same feeling as well and went behind him. From the celling figures dropped down. Strange humanoid like ones that looked human but had strange skin colors like grey and brown. There were even bloody spots on parts of them.

"What are these things?!" the female cried in fear.

"Just run; I'll take them out!" the male responded. With a flash his katana was out and had sliced one of the enemies in half. Blood and gore sprayed everywhere. Liru didn't stop to think or worry about Nicholas. She just ran. But had to punch a few of the enemies in order to get pass the room. The male in the meantime was swinging his sword in all directions. The blade was a blur and the humanoid opponents kept falling. Only when a path had opened up for him did the male follow the female. He could see that she had gone down the path which was a long, white hallway. But Liru couldn't be seen. Nicholas knew though that she was alright; the guy was able to smell her scent.

Suddenly one of the humanoid enemies following him managed to grab the male. The werewolf flipped the opponent onto its back. It rose up only to meet a chain like weapon Nicholas carried. His katana had been seethed. The guy turned his head and saw two more enemies running towards him. He kicked the first one into the side of the hallway. The chain weapon the werewolf had lashed out and got the second humanoid. Nicholas spun it around his neck in order to attack the third enemy. The one from before rose up only to meet a shot to the head with a hidden gun the werewolf whipped out.

The third humanoid got the chain around the neck as the first rose up to meet a second bullet from the gun. Nicholas then jumped up, kicking a fourth enemy that had appeared in the chin and sending the second flying to the side. The male dodged a fifth humanoid that had appeared and shot at the second one who fell to the ground, dead. The new enemy was then pinned and shot in the head along with the fourth. Two more humanoids came running in. The male shot at one who leapt at him. Another quick flick of the wrist wrapped the chain like weapon around the ankle of the second new enemy. But then Nicholas tried to fire the gun, only to discover it was out of bullets. The werewolf flipped the humanoid up and quickly reloaded the weapon. Even more enemies were coming in. The male shot two and used his feet and legs to break the necks of the ones still on the ground.

Picking up the fallen chain weapon, it was used to attack the new ones. Nicholas began to make his way towards the end of the hallway, but had to deal with the rest of the humanoids that hadn't been killed yet. When they had been, the first one from before rose up. The two beings walked towards the other in what seemed to be slow motion. The enemy opened its mouth and a growl came out. From the wrists, two blades of silver sprouted out from the arms. The werewolf just fired with his gun, and this time the humanoid went down for good. He then turned his head, hearing the sound of even more enemies coming. It was a hoard of them. Without thinking, Nicholas rang for the end of the hallway. A door there opened up, and the werewolf got through with it closing behind him. The enemy couldn't get past this. But this new area was pitch dark. But only for a moment.

Lights then came on. It was a huge white room. The male werewolf could see operating tables of some kind with more humanoid figures that while not completed yet, would become the enemies that had been faced against. There were also glass tubes big enough to fit a person in that came from the floor. "What the hell is this place?" Nicholas whispered as he walked forward, footsteps echoing. He then turned his head and saw everyone else chained up, mouths covered so they couldn't speak. But their eyes said it to rescue them. And the other guys even looked angry. But one look at the binding showed that some were made of silver.

The male werewolf quickly pulled out his gun and shot the bindings to pieces. The others fell to the floor and had their mouths free. Nicholas went right over to Liru and placed his arms on her shoulders. "Are you alright? he asked. "You and the others?"

She blushed and managed to nod. "So who was it that got you here?"

"It all happened so fast I'm not sure," Napoleon answered. "But we should find out soon enough."

"Not unless we get the hell out of here," Cosmo said.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," stated a new female voice. Everyone but Nicholas was grabbed by more humanoid like enemies. The male werewolf managed to shake off the one that tried to grab him and stabbed it in the head with a quick movement of his katana. He looked and could see everyone pinned down. But the then the other guys broke free of the ones holding them and knocked them back with a kick each. The females however couldn't do it; not even Liru. From the shadows out stepped two people. One was a midget with a typical lab coat, tie, and glasses. The other was a women with long purple colored hair, typical lab coat, quite the chest that had a spider like pattern on it, and high heels. From the celling the two black cloaked figures descended down and took off the articles of clothing. They looked like huge muscled people with grey skin, no hair, and had visors on colored orange.

Cosmo, Logan, and Napoleon all glared at these two. But Nicholas just smiled as the grey skinned enemies went in front of him as he turned to face the ones in charge. The girls recognized them having encountered the first one twice. "Well isn't this one big pleasant surprise," stated the male werewolf as the grey skinned humanoids brought out shooters; the same ones that had been used to hit Pachira and Napoleon. "Super Doctor K-Ko and her assistant Hongo. You two have started to become quite an inconvenience for me and the others."

"These things I've built will capture you this time," the female enemy responded. "This time the whole world will know of the threat you possess."

Nicholas reached up and took of his glasses. "You should've made more," he said dangerously while smirking. The male threw his glasses back to the grey enemies and ran towards them. On instinct one caught them which was a distraction that Nicholas used to his advantage. He elbowed the one that had caught the glasses down, and flipped the second onto its back. While at the same time grabbing his glasses and turning to face the first enemy who slowly rose up. The male put them back on. The other males in the meantime tried to step forward but their opponents were back up and moved to block them.

The enemy fired with the darts. Nicholas moved and was like a blur, dodging the attack. The one that had fired charged and managed to move the male back, but the werewolf wrapped his arms around the enemy so he was only moved across the floor. As soon as the two stopped, the guy cracked his neck and kneaded the humanoid before bringing his elbow down and throwing the opponent to the side. The enemy rose up and fired. The werewolf jumped back and did a few flips to avoid the shots. Nicholas then went after the second enemy and managed to wrap his arms around the humanoid, pining it there. The first one began to move in slowly, watching the werewolf's moves. The other brought out a knife and stabbed Nicholas in the right leg. The male let out a grunt of pain and threw the enemy to the side. He pulled the knife out and threw it on the ground. The wound could be seen along with the blood. But it didn't seem to affect Nicholas as he was able to easily dodge a shot fired by the first humanoid. More were fired before the werewolf got in and punched the enemy in the face and to the side. The second fired and the male leaned back to avoid the shot. Growing tired of this, Nicholas grabbed both of the enemies by their arms and threw them headlong at the glass tubes. These had open areas that then closed, trapping the humanoids inside.

Suddenly one of the humanoids blocking Logan lunged at him. The guy was able to dodge this attack. The next one going up against Cosmo managed to knock the guy down. Before it could do this person any harm, his right wrist transforming into a gun shooter and blasted his opponent. The bullet continued and hit some glass above. Huge shards of it rained down and Napoleon had managed to knock his opponent back. The long haired guy kicked at one of the huge shards of glass at the humanoid who had begun to charge. It worked like a blade, killing the enemy. Logan moved and brought out a wand of some kind. This one was straight but had ruin designs on them and looked far more powerful than the one Uma had. It was then spun around in the palm of his hand. "Lord of lighting, lend me your power." A magic circle appeared under his feet and glowed green. "Strike down the enemy! Lighting Beam!" From the wand came the stuff, hitting the opponents that were holding the girls and killing them.

The females fell to their knees in shock as they looked on the others. Suddenly a shot and the sound of a person being stabbed drew everyone's attention. Hongo had brought out a knife and stabbed Napoleon through the arm. The long haired male gasped in pain, and tried to pull the blade out of his trembling arm. The two humanoids that had been dealt with by Nicholas had broken free of their prison. Cosmo managed to take care of Napoleon while Nicholas turned to his opponents. With a growl his arms transformed. His two enemies lunged forward and with a shout the werewolf stabbed them in the head with his sharp claws. The two stumbled back. Hongo made a move which Nicholas was able to sense. "Don't even think about it," the taller male growled. The midget stopped short with the silver knife he had. His boss had just slowly begun to back up, seeing as how all her plans were ruined.

The humanoids who had been stabbed in the head slowly rose up. Meanwhile Hongo retreated back to where K-Ko was. With a roar Nicholas transformed into his full werewolf form. The opponents lunged forward but the guy sliced their heads off with his katana. The human enemies quickly retreated as the bodies fell. The male seethed his sword and turned to the others. All the female but Liru were looking on with shock. "I know you have questions, but now's not the time," he stated. "Let's get out of here. And it seems those two have retreated for now. Let's go."

They all then left, unaware that miles of way in a darken room. There were groups of people looking on at one in particular. In the gloom only a pair of rounded frame glasses with yellow eyes could be seen. "All is well gentlemen and ladies," stated this person in a German accent. "Our plans can move ahead. Ones that can produce the impending war. Und for the war beyond that. Und the war beyond that. Und the next. Und the next."


	8. Chapter 8

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 8: Beginnings

It didn't take long for the group of eight to get back to the mansion. But none of the guys were answering the female's questions; just hell bent on getting them to safety. They took them right to the area where Liru had begun to train. This surprised Uma, Pachira, and Aiko as they hadn't suspected that one would be here. "Napoleon?" asked the female vampire to him. "Why are we here?"

"Because I think it's time we showed you the truth," he answered. "You know about Nicholas here and saw that he's a werewolf. But not the remaining three."

"Why? Are you werewolves as well?"

"No, but I'm the same as you."

"As I am as Aiko," commented Logan.

"And I'm in the same category as Uma," stated Logan. This got all the female's attention.

"It can't be…" Liru whispered.

"It is," said Nicholas. The remaining three guys began to morph and change. Ones that changed their appearance drastically, but nothing too big. Napoleon's teeth got even whiter and sharpened into points. At the same time his cloths became black and gothic in design with a cape. Cosmo's arms morphed into metal ones along with the legs. The wand Logan had came out but so did gloves and the pants changed to more of that that belonged to a magician. The werewolf spoke up again. "Like with your group each of us is the same in terms of monster type. Napoleon; our vampire. Cosmo; an android who's light on his feet but strong. Logan; our powerful wizard. And I; I'm the werewolf which Liru here already knows."

They all looked on at the guys in shock. "I don't believe it," the female werewolf stated after a bit.

"But it is," Nicholas answered. "We've kept this hidden so long until something like being kidnapping came up. Even if it hadn't we were going to tell you any day now."

Uma and Pachira walked forward towards their male monster counter part while blushing slightly. Here were those that could work for them as boyfriends. Uma, since she didn't have an ideal guy, just looked onto Logan with a smile. "So I guess they'll train with me now?" asked Liru.

"Yes," the male werewolf answered. "They'll need to be for what is coming. Everyone, follow me." He led them to the training room and explained what was going to happen. This had already been discussed with the girl's invisible chaperone so it was fine. And so it began with the training and getting the other three up to where Liru was. And this would bring out quite the results. And leading up to beginning of finding the enemy.

"You see like you four us guys when it comes to out there in the dangerous world have our strengths and weakness. Now I'm not going to down play it by saying none of them can't fight, but it's at different levels. And by combining these together enables us to handle any situation. In other words, team work."

"But Logan doesn't look like the kind to fight," Uma stated.

"Well yes, I tend to be the more magic support, but that doesn't mean I can't lend a hand to say Nicholas or Napoleon," the said guy stated.

"And the same goes for me," Cosmo commented.

"This is going to apply to you four as well," Nicholas continued. "Liru here is definitely I would say the most athletic like me. Pachira on the other hand could get to her level. Uma on the other hand would be more supportive with her magic, and Uma is definitely not the type to help in a fight by physical means but other ways. I know because I heard her talk about how she's good with machines. So Uma can act as a hacker since there are many computers and things like that out there. Meanwhile Uma, you will be with Logan to increase your magical abilities. As they are now, you'll only get killed. And Pachira will join the rest of us."

And so things began with their training. Although it was challenging, it kept the four females busy. And there were parts they actually loved. Uma for example since she had trouble with spells was always pleased and happy when one actually worked instead of backfiring. Plus she was impressed and stunned by how much Logan really knew. His knowledge was so deep of magical spells it was like looking down a bottomless pit, or a huge library with thousands of books. There were spells that the female witch learned that she hadn't thought were possible before. And Uma was impressed by Cosmo's knowledge of machines.

Pachira on the other hand did her best to keep up with Liru. She wasn't going to let Liru show her up. But that suited the others just fine so the female vampire could catch up. But it was during this that something would pop up. One that nobody saw coming. It all started one day and the guys were looking on while the females finished up with their exercises. "You think they'll be ready?" asked Cosmo to Nicholas.

"I'd say for what we have planed."

"Hey Logan, you hear the song Peace Maker by Sonata Arctica?" Napoleon asked. "It totally rocks."

"No, but have you read the latest funniest manga?" the wizard managed to ask between his laughing while reading such a thing.

"How can I? You allow no one to read it before you do."

As soon as that was said, the four females finished up. "Well seems like that's it for today," stated Nicholas. "We'll continue with this tomorrow."

"So what now?" asked Pachira. "There's still time in the day."

"Honestly since you've been making such good progress, you can do whatever you want. Go out and get something, take a nightly stroll, I don't care. Just be on guard in case K-Ko and her assistant come back. Or something else. Remember, there are dangers out there, even for us."

Pachira and Napoleon decided to head out together since it would be a nice night and a excuse to get closer. The two vampires left the house with the sun slowly beginning to descend. The male took the female around to a few places that he liked to hang out as well as showing her his ability to defy gravity and walk up walls. This would be learned in time and Pachira would be able to do it. However their walk was cut a bit short when while heading down the street, the two couldn't help but notice some kind of fog in front of them. Something about it seemed off. "What is that?" the female whispered.

"I don't know, but we'd better keep our distance." No sooner was that said when the fog suddenly got closer. Before the two vampires could shout, it had engulfed them. Napoleon grabbed Pachira's hand and she blushed despite what was going on. The female wrapped her arms tightly around him. After what seemed like forever, both could see again. But seemed to be in a foggy version of the place they were familiar with. But something was off; like it was a ghost town or something.

"What could have caused this?" asked Napoleon. "No human, not even K-Ko could have created this. Stick very close to me Pachira."

They noticed strange white stuff floating down. It wasn't snow at all. "Can't we just go back the way we came?" asked the female.

"I don't think it's possible. It's not like we went through a door. It's quite possible we're in another realm or dimension. There should be a way out. The trouble will be finding it."

The two started to head forward until they reached a building. "Maybe in there?" Pachira suggested.

"Let's make it quick." The vampires went in. Instantly for some strange reason it got dark. So dark in fact that even they couldn't see. But the two could still feel each other since they were holding hands.

"Wait a moment," stated the male. Suddenly a light of fire began to shine. From his right hand hung another rune on a necklace. But one more interestingly designed than the one Nicholas had. "It's better than nothing."

They continued but had hardly gone far when somehow the walls began to twist a bit and suddenly blood could be seen on the floor. A sense of dread and fear was quickly rising up in the female. The male felt it as well. Then the vampires saw something that made them stop cold. They saw pinned to the wall a corpse in a rough human like shape, with no face, but bloody bandages, and the inner parts of the body exposed. "What the hell is this?!" Napoleon whispered. Pachira shrank behind him. "What the fuck is going on here?!"

The two then turned and saw something that made the female scream. Two corpses of humans; horrible ones were coming towards them. Before the vampires could move, they sat up, the female one still screaming while Napoleon shook off the arms of Logan. Everyone else was here. Pachira after seeing she was back in the real world found the male vampire and sobbed into his shoulder. His arms went around her in comfort. "What happened?" asked Nicholas. "We saw both of you in this state that we couldn't get you out of."

"I've confirmed it," Napoleon answered in a voice that spelled dread. The other guy's eyes went wide with shock, but the rest of the females couldn't make any sense of this.

"Here, let's get back before it shows up again," commented the male werewolf. It didn't take long to do so. Pachira was able to mostly calm down upon this, but refused to leave Napoleon's side.

"So what happened?" asked Liru. "I've never seen Pachira act like that." The male vampire quickly told the tale.

"That doesn't make any sense," said Uma. "You went to another dimension of some kind?"

"That's right," Napoleon answered. "And it's the first time I've encountered it. Up till now all we've heard is stories about it."

"And that's not all," stated Logan. "They say that people who go into there almost never come out. Many have just disappeared. Consider yourselves lucky."

"What can we do against such a thing?" asked Aiko who shivered.

"Well the problem is we can't figure out when it appears," said Cosmo. "It just randomly pops up. But if you see any fog that doesn't look normal run the hell away from it. Until then you must do that. And don't go wondering around at night."

"At least we won't be totally helpless," Nicholas stated. "I have a plan for how to deal with it a bit, but it will have to wait till tomorrow. It's late and I think it would be best if you four stayed here. In fact probably from now on."

Everything was set up but Pachira was so scared that she didn't want to leave Napoleon's side at all. The male allowed her to stay the night with him. Although this didn't lead to a hook up, the two became even closer. In his mind, he made it up to tell the female just how he felt about her. She in turn felt warm and safe by Napoleon's side. None of the other females of course needed this yet. They hadn't experienced what their friend had. But the rest of the guys couldn't help but worry for them if something like this came up again. But things were going to get even more interesting.

The next day showed the two vampires were pretty much back to normal. But it found Nicholas and Logan just looking through books that appeared to be ancient. Cosmo was also doing research on his computer. The other females did whatever they wanted for the most part during the morning and early afternoon. They were then called to meet with the males. "Now then after doing some research, I think we might have a better chance if we get caught in that realm again," stated Nicholas.

"What is it even?" asked Uma.

"It's called the Otherworld, an evil one where physical law often doesn't apply. In addition it has the power of causing delusions and creating tangible symbols of elements from the unconscious mind, mental states, and innermost thoughts when present it, manifest in that realm. In other words it has the ability to materialize one's thoughts. And this takes the form of monsters that wouldn't exist in the real world. Often ones of fear and regret."

The females shivered. "Sounds scary," whispered Aiko.

"There have been reports about this before in the past. The farthest one goes back nearly 2,000 years ago. Originally this malevolent power was non-evil, but as the centuries went by it became corrupt. Namely by others who sought to use it for themselves. But it's something that's beyond human understanding; nobody can control it. And it can strike anywhere outside at any time, but night times are the most frequent."

"So… what do we do?" asked Uma.

"We'll start by giving everyone here more protection." The male werewolf brought out the other necklace Liru had seen before. "This one is a ruin that's known as the Angelic Power or Enkeli ruin. It's one of the best tools to fight demons and evil forces. These have existed since ancient times; in order to help fight evil like this. Now we're going to create more charms, a few for everyone so the next time you step into the Otherworld, you'll have a chance."

He and Logan turned and brought out lumps of black colored metal onto a table. The two males held their hands out in front of these and began to chant and speak in an ancient dialect. The girls at first thought it was something creepy, until they saw the metal began to glow with a warm, holy looking light. They began to change form into different shapes. It only took a minute or so before the glowing stopped, and what lay there were a few different ruins; enough for everyone to have. Pachira recognized the one Napoleon had and picked one up. "So pretty," she commented.

"How did you do that?" asked Uma with excitement. "That's amazing!"

"Anyone can if they have the right kind of training," the wizard explained. "We've embodied these with the power they need to help us. The heat one you've seen in action. But there are also the Fearless one which will help with your courage, Deflect or Block Ruin to help with your defense, Equilibrium for balance, and the Insight or Foresight Ruin to help with sight even in the dark."

"Wear these at all times except for things like sleep and such," said Nicholas. "These could save your life. And before this is over, I feel every ruin will be needed for whatever is out there."

Everyone took these and it was well they did. For a couple of nights latter found the two androids out for a stroll. Although the two talked, they kept their eyes out for any suspicious fog. There wasn't any, but they would fine something else. The walk took them towards the edge of the city. "Seems safe tonight," said the female with a bit of relief.

"Come on, you have a ruin that helps with courage," Cosmo commented with a teasing grin.

"I'm not scared thanks to it. I can feel its power working. I just wanted to avoid a fight is all. Or even killing."

"You'll never have to worry about that. Just leave it to me. And if you should find yourself in a fight, you've been taught on how to get out of it quicker than you got into it."

Suddenly the female stopped as she heard something. The male did as well. And the fact they were located near the edge of the city. "When in the hell did we get this far out?" he wondered. The sound happened again. One that was like the sound of paws hitting the ground. And more than one heading towards the androids. Both turned and saw the shape of four dogs; Dobermans. But the two with their eyes could see there was something wrong with these canines. Their skin was off color. The body had bloody marks on it.

"Get behind," Cosmo told Aiko. "Be on guard; something's not right with these animals."

"What is it?"

"Could be rabies. It's a disease humans and animals can get. But… I don't see any foaming at the mouth. That's a big sign." Suddenly one of the dogs lunged at the two with a loud growl that sounded unnatural. As though this animal was possessed.

Cosmo moved himself and Aiko out of harms way. A blade from his wrist emerged and stabbed the dog in the head; killing it instantly. The other three roared and their heads split to reveal gapping mouths with teeth. These were not normal. The female couldn't help but scream out loud. The remaining enemy began to circle around, looking for an opening. "These aren't normal at all," the male android stated. "Something has gotten to these canines."

"But what?" asked Aiko as her eyes darted from one enemy to the next.

"We'll need a sample. Here's the plan; if one lunges at you, send it flying to me. I'll take care of the messy part and the rest. Okay?" He saw her nod. "Get ready…"

The enemy then lunged at the two. The female was ready, her strength and resolve set. When one got within range, Aiko whirled, her right foot at the ready. There was the sound of a crack, showing some ribs had broken. The mutated canine was thrown towards Cosmo. With a strong thrust, he stopped the enemies' heart. The other two were quickly shot down. Just like that, the fight was over. The two androids step towards the body of the one still together. Cosmo placed it over his shoulders. "You're… taking it?" asked the female.

"For analysis purpose one," said the male. "I think Nicholas will want to see this." It wasn't long before they made it back. It was too late to do anything about the creature, so it was tossed into a freezer.

The next day everyone was in a room that had the dead enemy on a table. Nicholas, Logan, and Cosmo were doing most of the work while everyone else watched. It wasn't until a sample taken from the creature was placed under a microscope did the three examining exchange worry looks. "Uh… everything alright?" asked Liru.

"Well it depends on your point of view," stated the male werewolf. "We've found out what's inside of this thing that made it act like it did. A virus that shouldn't be in there. While we don't know what yet, it's mutated this dog into this thing. The good news is that it can only affect animals and humans but not monsters. And we know this because we can tell the virus is structure to affect those things. The bad news is that if we're not careful, too many of these things can still kill us."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Uma with a bit of a worried look.

"For now we need to just keep out ears open for any news," Logan answered. "And to warn the right people while there's time."

A few days latter a report came in of creatures very much like the ones encountered appearing in a campus to the north. And other things as well. The group made their way out there immediately. While the females weren't sure about this, the guys were ready to start and help those out there that couldn't defend themselves. What's more the moon was half full but it shined brightly. It didn't take long to arrive at the destination. As they got out of the vehicle, Napoleon looked up and saw the moon.

"How beautiful," he stated. "Nights like this make we want to have a bite to drink. Yes… I can't imagine a more… perfect evening." Pachira just stared at the male; this sounded a bit dark for him.

"Well I forbid you to attack anyone innocent," commented Nicholas with a slight growl. "And I doubt if we find any creatures like the one examined I doubt it will agree with your system. However… if there are any enemies you might be able to gain some information from them." The werewolf, who didn't need blood could think more clearly around his hunger.

"How will that help?" asked Liru.

"Blood carries memories just like your brain," Logan explained. "Napoleon here can tap into those, but since he never goes after humans like Pachira, he's never had to use it. This is a first time. I guess since she's never attacked humans your friend didn't know this."

"Regardless I'm still in the mood for something," the male vampire commented. "I trust you'll have something when this is over."

"I'll get the best tomato juice or blood substance you can find latter," Cosmo replied. "Now let's see what's going on."

The main building of the campus was nearby and was the first to be checked out. The guys had their guns at the ready while the girls kept their eyes open. Nobody needed flashlights because Logan had casted a spell for those who needed to see in the dark while the others could on their own. The banquet hall was first and from the looks of it, a dinner was to be held here. "You think anyone survived?" Uma asked.

"Let's hope," Nicholas answered.

The small group went through the building, noticing how quiet it was. That is until they had to go down some stairs to the basement area to check things out. Napoleon held up his hand. "You guys here that?" he whispered. The rest listened hard. It sounded like the sound of moaning and ripping of flesh and bones. Liru then looked to her right and gasped, grabbing Nicholas's arm. They saw a crouched figure, bloody and feeding on a corpse.

"What the fuck…?" Logan whispered. The creature suddenly stopped and slowly rose up, facing the group. What they saw was horrid; a person, but bloody with deathly pale skin and blank staring eyes. Suddenly more came from the shadows. Without thinking the guys all shot at the enemy with their guns in the head. One shot blew these things apart, spraying blood and gore. A few seconds latter after the bodies fell, they melted away into nothing. Cosmo went over to one of the puddles and placed a swab into it, getting a sample. The android put it away safely.

"Seems we may have found the people here," stated Nicholas. "But not themselves."

"Were those really…?" asked Uma, but couldn't finish. She and the other females were scared.

"They acted like zombies, but zombies don't dissolve like that. I don't know what these are, but if I had to guess there are more nearby. Probably infected like these from bites or something else."

Everyone continued to move, taking out more of these kinds of creatures. Well the males did, but the female just hung back and only acted if needed. They still weren't there yet when it came to combat. After taking out the basement area, it was onto the second floor. Here something would be found that wasn't expected. The gang got into an office like space and Liru closed the door behind them. Suddenly a rumbling shook the room. Then a massive zombie like human crashed through the door with a moan. "Damn it!" shouted Logan and went on the offensive with his magic. "Just when I thought we could get a breather!"

"These thing come in extra large now?" Nicholas asked and transformed into his werewolf form with a roar. The male rushed forward, hacking at the huge enemy with his katana.

"We need to move out of here!" Napoleon stated. "It's too small to fight in here!"

Everyone moved out and there were other zombie like enemies but of normal size here. The small fry were quickly taken care of before the big one was able to be focused on. This enemy could take a lot of bullets and punishment. To the point that the females actually began to help out. It was only after two minutes of attacking and dodging that the zombie was beaten. It fell to the ground with a crash. "Is it… dead?" asked Aiko.

"Yeah, it won't be back anytime soon," Napoleon commented. He then stiffened and turned his head sharply. Out of the corner of this male's eye he spotted someone moving. And running away. "There's someone here." The guy took off after them to the surprise of the others. The figure seemed hell-bent on getting out of the area. But Napoleon was too fast for this person and managed to stop right in front of them. "And where are you in going in such a hurry?"

The new one just let out a roar, showing pointed teeth like a vampire. In one hand a broken vital was held. "Did you unleash this hell here?! Answer me!" Napoleon ordered. The rest caught up to him. This enemy whipped out a machine gun and fired. But Napoleon was too quick and moved to dodge the bullets. He was right on top of the enemy and knocked the gun out of their hands and get them on the ground. "Spill it maggot!" he growled.

In the light the person pinned appeared to be a male with glowing red eyes and dirty white hair wearing a hoodie. The enemy let out a snarl at Napoleon. "It doesn't seem like this one will talk," said Nicholas. "But it's a vampire; I can tell. Strange that this one doesn't look like any I've seen before. However…." He bent down and grabbed the enemies' jaw. "There are ways of making even this one talk."

Suddenly the guy being pinned down burst into blue flames. Napoleon and Nicholas backed away in shock. The others felt the same feeling. Within seconds nothing but ashes of the enemy were left. "What the hell…?" the male vampire whispered.

"That's it?" asked Uma in a scared voice.

"Like I said, not one I've seen before," said Nicholas. He then noticed something in the ashes. It looked to be some kind of microchip. The guy held it up. "Some evidence. We'll have to look into this later. If this burnt enemy really did this, it's up to us to clean this mess. Let's move."

The group did so and were able to clean up the rest of the village. But no more answers were found until they got back to their house. Everyone gathered around the thing that had been found in the enemy vampire that was on a table. "It looks like a transmitter," stated Logan. "Perhaps much more. This one seems to relay information regarding this creature's physical and mental state, movements, and altercations."

"How can you tell?" asked Pachira.

"It looks similar to what Cosmo uses for his machines."

"But nothing for evil," the male android commented.

"What now?" asked Liru.

"For now just keep our eyes open," Nicholas stated. And it was a good thing they did. For within the next few days attacks like the ones before happened, keeping the group busy. While these weren't any problem, they also found werewolves in the mix. Ones that were different like the vampires. They also had chips in them. At the end of the week Nicholas just went onto his computer to look up the information that had been obtained and any reports of things like this.

"These attacks aren't random. Someone is creating these vampires and other creatures. Moving towards some unknown purpose. There's too many… Far too many. Suddenly we have far too many vampires, werewolves, and other creatures causing trouble. It's as if someone were churning these things of a factory line."

However this would only be just the beginning.


	9. Chapter 9

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 9: Back to That Realm and Priest Paladin

Although shaken by these recent events, the females were going to do whatever it took to survive. They weren't going to die at all. But none of them were prepared on how tough it was going to get. And attacks of these creatures were beginning to get even tougher, requiring the four to fight. It wasn't easy at first, but they had no other choice. At least the guys were there to back them up. "You've all done well so far," commented Nicholas while the entire group was training. "I have no doubt that you'll be ready for the tougher enemies when we come across them."

"There's going to be more?" Liru asked with weary.

"I have no doubt. This virus we've found can infect many things. And I wouldn't be surprised if it could adapt and evolve like regular strains of cold and flu viruses. The problem is that unlike with those, creating a cure will be much harder. In the meantime no human or animal has immunity to this."

"And then there's the problem with that other realm," stated Logan. "We haven't seen anymore of it, but who knows when it will come back. And if those who are behind this also try to tap into it, it will cause even more problems."

"Even if it can't be control?" asked Uma.

"Considering what they've created, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they could."

"All the same the next time you come across it you'll be bettered prepared," said Nicholas. "And perhaps gain a clue or something as to who or what is behind this. If the enemy is manipulating the Otherworld."

Little did anyone know that it would play a role in what was to come. And it would begin with Uma and Logan. They had the extra charms that had been made with them and figured that the afternoon was perfect for a stroll. The sun was out and the weather was perfect. The two talked a bit, but then the female brought up a question that had been on her mind. "Say, you think I'm getting better at spells?"

"What brought that up?" he asked.

"Well… I just wanted to hear what you think."

"I think you've become a lot stronger ever since you started training. And it will grow a lot."

The female blushed but smiled up at the male. "Thank you." He nodded. She then turned her head and noticed something. "Hey… What's that?"

Logan looked and could see it; the mysterious fog from before. "Shit! Run!" He began but looked back to see Uma hadn't.

"I can't move!"

"Damn it!" The wizard managed to grab her just as the fog consumed both of them.

Both woke up next to a brick wall on a bench. "Damn…" the male cursed after both got up. "Seems we've been dragged into this place."

"We're more prepared than Pachira."

"Yeah, but this seems different than where they ended up. Keep you guard up."

The two could see how foggy the place was and that they were in some kind of city. Even the trees on the sidewalks were dead looking. But there were street signs to help show the way. However, the only building that seemed to have access was a hospital. With a nod, both went inside. The first thing the two found was a hospital map which was sure to come in handy. Both could see the place look gloomy as well. What was strange was that nobody seemed to be here. After walking a bit Uma and Logan found an elevator and they rode it up to the second floor. This area was dark. Luckily the ruin that was Foresight helped both see. They then went through another door. Inside was a few things but also a person that was making weird noises and twitching while standing up. "Miss?" asked the male. "You okay?"

She turned only to show that it was a figure covered in blood, a surgical mask, and a blank face. The creature lunged forward like a zombie and Uma screamed in terror. Logan went on the offensive and brought out his wand. With a shout the guy shot lighting at the creature and killed it. "You okay?" he asked the female.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Not what we encountered before. Remember, if this is that realm it was probably made from your mind. Let's get out of here." Both then went into the room nearby. There was a bloody surgical chair and a mirror. But something was wrong with the reflection. Just then the sound of static could be heard. The witch and wizard looked to their left and could see a small girl of about 11. She had purple eyes and long black hair tied back by a white ribbon. This new person was standing in front of the mirror and held her right hand up to it. A bloody print appeared and this person backed off. What was weird was that she wasn't there before.

Logan and Uma went up to the mirror again. "Who are what are you?" asked the male and raised his hand up to the print. The images of him and the witch began to twitch and distort. Blood seemed to pool out from the print. After a few seconds it stopped, but looking showed the room had changed. There was blood everywhere; on the floor and walls. It looked even darker and scarier. "Are we seeing things?"

"I wish we could leave…" Uma whispered and grabbed the male's arm. "There's got to be a way out."

"I agree." Logan then noticed something in a box and grabbed it. It was some plastic lungs. The guy put them away; it could help. They then left the room and could see the hallways were the same and even had a couple more of the creatures from before. These were quickly dealt with. Then in another room a golden egg like ornament was found and taken. In another a plastic heart was obtained. Then it was back downstairs which was just as twisted and had the same creatures. But what was different was there was a place to place the gold egg. Doing so allowed a door to open. Inside this room a plastic liver was obtained. This place also had another mirror. Holding their hands up caused the area to go back to normal. A bit of exploring latter found a plastic stomach and intestines. These happened to be in a room that had a plastic dummy; one to place the parts in. Doing so caused the eyes to open and gave Logan and Uma glass eyes.

Then it was back to a mirror and the horrid version of the hospital. The two found a place to use the glass eyes and went into the room that it unlocked. After following the path, they came into a square like room. Both slowly turned and saw to their surprise and horror, a bloody corpse with no limbs or face rise up from the ground on two legs. The top of it twitched and shook in a scary, unnatural way. It lunged blindly at the wizard and witch who were able to dodge it. Suddenly the top part split open to reveal a sideways mouth with sharp teeth. Some kind of liquid was spewed out. Uma and Logan quickly had their wands out. The female brought up a protective barrier and the liquid wasn't able to reach them. "Leave this to me!" the male stated.

From his wand fire came out and engulfed the creature. While this seemed to do damage, the enemy didn't back down at all. This cycle of dodging and attacking had to be repeated a couple of more times until suddenly the thing disappeared. Then a red glowing circle with strange symbols appeared. In the middle was some kind of triangle like object. Uma went over and picked it up. "What is this?" she asked.

Suddenly the two felt they were being watched and looked to see the same girl from before. "You!" stated Logan. "What was that thing?"

"Something produced by me…" she whispered, the voice echoed. "A fear of things like that…"

"Who are you?"

"Your leader will know… Take that object back with you… It will help…"

Suddenly Logan and Uma felt vibrations in the air and their eyes rolled in the back of their skulls before passing out. Upon awakening, they could see they were back in the real world. "Did… did that really happen?" asked the female. She then looked down and saw the object that had been picked up.

"I think it did," answered the male. "Let's get back before anything else happens."

They returned quickly and told everything that happened. While the rest of the females gasped at the right parts, the males just listened the entire time. At the end Uma handed the item that had been obtained by Nicholas. The werewolf held it and examined what it was while thinking things over. He then spoke up. "And you said this… girl you saw said it would come in handy?"

"Yeah and that you would know who she was," stated Logan. "Do you?"

"Her appearance reminds me of another girl. You should remember it happened in the news about one who perished in a fire named Aya Drevis." At this the other guy's eyes went wide with shock. They did remember.

"Then… was it her ghost or spirit?" asked the wizard.

"Possibly. What troubles me is why she appeared in the Outerworld. And more importantly why you came across this." He held up the object. "Looking closer it looks like it's a piece of a large thing. You can see here that there are slots like something is made to hook up or go into them. But as for it being useful… I will need to look into this."

The guy did so and had to flip through the same books as before while everyone else did what they wanted. Nothing more was said until latter that evening when the male werewolf told everyone what he had found. "It seems you Logan and Uma have found something interesting."

"What is it?" asked the wizard. Nicholas held up the object.

"This is part of an artifact known as the Flaruos. It can be used to amplify thought. And you two found a part of it called the Future Piece. I don't know how many they are but if this was given to us then perhaps our enemy is not only trying to manipulate the Outerworld, perhaps they want to get their hands on this."

"So what now?" asked Napoleon.

"Be prepared since you may find yourself in there. And keep an eye out for Aya. She most likely will return; perhaps to help us. As well as for attacks that are happening here."

However nobody was prepared for the next encounter in their world. But the word of another attack by creatures was something that drew them towards it. This would cause someone else to get involved. But they were in a different country. The scene started at an orphanage somewhere in Rome. "Now both of you stop that," stated a male voice that had a Scottish accent. "There's no fighting between friends. How do you expect to get to heaven acting like that?"

"Sorry Father," replied one of the children who had been doing so. The older one stood up. He wore glasses, white gloves, and a long Grey overcoat that looked a bit like priest robes. A cross on a long cord was around his neck.

"Listen," he stated. "Violence is never the right answer. Expect when used against monsters." This person looked up and saw another priest approaching. He turned to the children. "Alright, I want both of you to run straight up to your rooms."

"Yes Father," the other replied, and taking the first's hand, they ran away laughing. The adults began to walk in a different direction to talk.

"So what do I owe this visit? What happened?"

"I'm afraid we've been hearing a lot of bad news coming from Japan as of late," sated the other male.

"Yeah, they're working hard to keep everything quiet."

"Vampires, werewolves, and other monsters." The first got a grin that seemed to be a bit psychotic. "They're have recently been multiple attacks from these things within their borders. Far too many to be pure coincidence."

"Well there's nothing wrong with that is there? If those things want an area that's Protestant, that's not our business."

"But there's more," commented the second priest. "We've received word that a small group has been fighting these attacks and holding a stronger front. Keeping damage to a minimum."

The first priest scoffed. "They're nothing but amateurs! They're like kindergardners compared to us! The Catholics, the Vatican, and the Iscariots! We were fighting against the forces of darkness centuries before this group even existed! So why are you here? If the problem is just in that country than surely they can take care of it on their own."

"But it's not just in Japan."

"What?!" asked the first in disbelief.

"There's been an attack in one of the cities that's Catholic." The details were quickly told. "That group is on the move, and we will not sit back and watch."

"The nerve of that group, sneaking around were they're not wanted, like they belong there. These fools are shameless it seems."

"We will teach them to know their place Fileson. They tread on Catholic land. These monsters are our to destroy. We want you to take care of this problem before they do."

"And if I should run into the group?" asked the one named Fileson.

"Just remember, we are part of God's divine instrument on earth. We do not retreat when we are challenged by heretics."

"If anyone does not love the Lord, Jesus Christ, let him be accursed at his coming; God save you from your fate, Amen," stated Fileson.

X

The others were a bit late getting to the place. But they made it otherwise. This time it was in a small village. The carnage was going on in a hospital and the sound of gun fire and blasts could be seen and heard. The guys were already in the fray, shooting down the hoard of the zombie like creatures. One shot to the head did the trick for these things. "Now it's your turn," said Napoleon in his communicator. It was heard by Pachira.

She came rolling out into a hallway below like in practice. "They're not real people," the female reminded herself as she took aim with a gun that had been lent to her. "They might as well be zombie pumpkins. They just dance. Take aim; one shot and it's all over."

The vampire then fired and managed to take out those that were near here. The others except Aiko were helping out in their own way. The female witch had caught up with Napoleon and the same with Liru and Nicholas. Pachira made it up to the same floor as Napoleon and continued to fire at the enemy. As she did, the female's senses somehow became sharper than before. Her eyes took on a blood red tint. The shots became faster and took the enemy down quicker. The male vampire managed to catch up to her. "Hey Pachira, when you aim make sure to put a bullet through the head or the heart," he stated while firing at another enemy. "Remember, these people didn't become like this by choice most likely. And so far there's no way to cure them. It's for their own sake that we put them to rest as soon as possible."

Pachira turned to face him and reloaded her gun. "Yes I understand," she responded and her voice echoed a bit. The male's eyebrows went up as he saw the change in the eyes. But the guy then smiled. Doors on this floor opened and more zombies came out. The female just smirked and charged forward, dodging the shots that were fired at her. Pachira then slid on her back and took them all out except for one. She rushed up to it and knocked it down. The female then stepped on the head and with a fiendish grin, she stomped the head to bits.

"It seems you're finally becoming a vampire like me," said Napoleon. He knew that Pachira was a sweet girl deep down. But in the heat of battle it could change anyone. This was the more darker side to her that was normally kept locked up. This time it had come forth.

Suddenly out of nowhere a shinny blade came out and stabbed Pachira right through the neck. Both vampires eyes went wide with shock and the female let out a groan. More came out and stabbed her in various areas. The female went straight to the ground. Napoleon growled and stepped forward to take a look. He could see symbols appear briefly on the handles and could see they were bayonet blades. "Blessed weapons," he snarled. Suddenly pages from a book came out and were pinned to the wall that glowed with yellow light. The male vampire turned and could tell what it was. "A barrier," he whispered.

Then came the sound of footsteps walking down some stairs and the dripping of blood. A figure came into view and it was Fileson who grinned. Two more bayonets were being wielded. "We are the servants of God and the messengers of his justice," said the male. "We are the instruments of his divine wrath on Earth. We are called upon to cleanse his kingdom burning ash from the flesh of thine enemy." The human crossed his weapons briefly into a cross like shape. "Praise to our lord." Fileson then took some steps forward with that same grin. "Beautiful moon tonight, don't you think?"

Napoleon didn't answer but bared his fangs in a snarl for this guy attacking Pachira. The female slowly raised her head up with groans. Fileson chuckled. "Your voice sounds so very lovely when you're whimpering in agony, young lady. Don't worry though. You're not dying yet. I haven't pierced your heart. It's been awhile since I've had a good hunt. I plan on enjoying this." Pachira like all vampires couldn't be affected by regular weapons and bullets. As long as holy ones didn't pierce the heart, they couldn't die, or regenerate from the wounds.

"Vatican Special Division 13; the Iscariot Organization," Napoleon state. Pachira's eyes went wide with shock, haven never heard of them before.

"Right you are," stated Fileson. "You pathetic vampire dogs. You must be part of that group who's been taking care of monsters as of late. Word has reached our ears." He began to walk forward.

"What have you done with the one in charge that we were trying to find?" asked the male vampire as he to began to walk forward.

"He's dead. Not much fun really. I didn't even have time to enjoy it." The two kept walking forward with the female watching on with nerviness. Both males then stopped with their backs to each other. "It seems you two are the only vampires left."

"Really?" asked Napoleon with a grin. Their eyes looked back for just a second. Then they whirled around; one had the bayonets ready, the other his gun. The blade parried the firearm, and both managed to get the male vampire. He groaned in pain as the blood came spilling out. Pachira gasped in shock at how fast the other was and that the guy she really liked had managed to get hit. He growled and quickly fired. The bullet got Fileson right in the forehead. There was blood and the human was sent flying back.

"You attacked me, a vampire head on in the middle of the night," Napoleon stated and removed the blades in his body. "You didn't even try to catch me by surprise. You're a brave man Father. But you're also a fool."

Pachira slowly rose up to her hands. "Napoleon..." she gasped.

"Don't talk. You've been stabbed with a blessed blade. It's one of the few things that can cause problems for us. Now, let's-" The male stopped as he sensed Fileson behind him. The male let out a chuckle and stabbed the vampire again with his blades. "WHAT?!" Napoleon asked in shock. Pachira also felt the same.

The human laughed as the male vampire managed to pull himself off of the blades. Jumping ahead to get some space, he pulled out his gun. Turning back, a volley of bullets was launched. They all found their mark, causing blood to spray out from the wounds. Fileson was knocked back as Napoleon landed. The human didn't moved for a few seconds before stirring. He got up with a grin. With a yell, the guy ran forward. The male vampire fired again, but the bullets didn't slow his opponent down. Two more bayonets were brought out and slashed at Napoleon who dodged and fired again. A few more shots were let loose and then Fileson threw his hands back. Now the vampire could see a summoning tag on the wrist part of the coat. From each four blades came which were thrown with alarming speed. The force broke the windows on the right. Napoleon just shot at these projectiles. That was a mistake as the enemy managed to grab the vampire's right wrist. The human sent the other male back into a wall and pinned his hands and body down with two more bayonets; right through the palms.

Pachira looked on with worry while the guy she liked looked on with shock. Fileson drew some blades and stood there. Now the vampires could see the bullets that had been shot into him being pushed out and the wounds closing up. "Amen," said the human with a grin.

"A re-generator," Napoleon whispered in shock. "An actual human re-generator."

"Correct. A living weapon engineered by the human race to defeat vile monsters like you." The opponent threw a bunch of bayonets right into the upper body of the male vampire. But nothing vital. The female who was watching felt her eyes go wide with worry, knowing what was going to happen next. Fileson slowly went over and with one swing of a blade, cut off the head of Napoleon. "Amen!"

Pachira gasped. "NAPOLEON!" she cried out. Fileson threw his head back and laughed long. He didn't bother with the female or head that had been sent flying to her.

"That's it?" he asked. "That's all he had? A member of a group that took down monsters was so easily defeated? What a disappointment. Bloody Protestants screw everything up…" The guy turned and saw Pachira was gone. Only some blood was left behind leaving a trail.

"Well after all that, she's still able to crawl away. It seems I may have underestimated her." Two bayonets came out to deal with Pachira.

The female vampire was panting and slowly making her way down the hall with Napoleon's head. Blood was dripping from her body caused by the one blade left in her. The rest had managed to be taken out. Pachira reached for the last one in her back. The bayonet burned her a bit, but the female managed to get it out. It did cause some pain though. After catching her breath, Pachira cradled Napoleon's head. "Napoleon…" she whispered before holding it close. "I never got to say how I felt about you… I wish the others had been there."

Suddenly a bayonet blade came out, stabbed through the head and pinned it to a wall. The female turned with a gasp. "Where do you think you're going?" asked the voice of Fileson. "There's no place to run. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. We are nothing more than dust. And to the dust we shall return. Amen." The human came out from the shadows.

" _I have to get out of here,_ " Pachira thought with fear. " _I have to escape. Just have to run and find the others._ " She reached for a window, but was pushed back by something that cackled with energy. The vampire cried out in surprise. "What is this?!" The female could see more pages of a bible held in place by nails.

"That is a spiritual barrier little girl," the human answered as he got closer. "It's impossible for vampiric creatures and others like yourself to penetrate it. Now settle down while I slaughter you god damn monster."

The fact the female was going to die was flashing through her mind and thoughts about what she still wanted to do in life plus Napoleon was all Pachira could think about. And stay frozen in spot. Until a voice that echoed invaded her thoughts. "This is no time to loose your head Pachira." It was Napoleon. The vampire watched his head dissolve and turn into the blood. The crimson liquid began to form words and the voice of the male spoke.

"Drink my blood Pachira." The female let out a gasp of shock. "Drink, and you shall never be helpless like this. Drink, and you shall truly become one of us. You will drink blood of your own choosing. Wondering the night. Powerful and singular. Become eternal and complete. Drink my blood Pachira. Do it to survive."

Before she could move Fileson was right behind the female. "It's over." Before the blades could be brought down, gun fire sounded out and blew the weapons to pieces. It was Nicholas and the others.

"That girl right there is with us," stated the male werewolf. "What's your business here, Paladin of Iscariot, Father Alexander Fileson?" This guy had encountered the human before and knew him well enough by face.

"So it seems the group ridding monsters makes an appearance."

"Enough," Nicholas growled. "This situation here is well under our control. Withdraw immediately. Neither our side or Iscariot can afford can afford this sort of battle. I don't care who the hell you think you are. This act of aggression ends now."

"Withdraw? Is that an order?" Two more bayonets came out. "You except the Iscariot Organization, God's own chosen instruments of judgment to just withdraw on your order when you have none? Did you really expect me to run screaming in fear from filthy monsters like yourself?" Fileson lunged forward and everyone opened fired, only to find that wouldn't work. Logan and Cosmo moved Uma and Aiko out of the path of the enemy's blade while Liru managed to jump back. Nicholas managed to draw his katana and had it stopping the attack.

"An artificially bio-engineered re-generator agent," he stated. "And they've upgraded your healing. You're a thing."

"Perhaps, but you're nothing but weak. You're worthless. And as for that pathetic male vampire who you talked about, you just miss his decapitation."

Nicholas let out a grin. "You cut his head off? Is that all?"

"What?!" asked Fileson in shock. Liru and the others drew their weapons and pointed it at the human. "Get your hands off of Nicholas right now!" the female werewolf ordered. The enemy just let out a laugh.

"It's not looking very good for you," the male leader stated. "If I were you, I would leave while I was still able."

"Have you gone insane? I'm about to paint the walls with all of you!"

"Then you'd better do it quickly! That vampire you decapitated will becoming back to life any moment!"

"He'll what?!" Fileson asked and looked behind him. Pahcira did as well and could see Napoleon's body was gone. The only thing there was a shadowy bat like figure flapping its wings.

The female vampire heard his voice. "Why didn't you just drink the blood you idiot?" Suddenly more bats came and broke the remaining windows. Fileson tried to use his bayonets, but they didn't do anything.

"Cut off his head?" said Nicholas. "Pierced his heart? He is nothing like any vampire you've ever known! You're tricks won't kill him and the same goes for the rest of us males! You may be the fruit of the finest anti-vampire technology. But a hundred years of vampires breeding produced this achievement! The crown jewel of these beings! The vampire Napoleon!" While this was being said the mass of bats merged together until the guy came back, fully healed, and ready for action.

"Napoleon!" Pachira cried with happiness.

The male drew his gun. Then he and Fileson charged forward. The result was the vampire had both his arms cut off. But looking back the human could see them regenerating. "I think you're beginning to understand," commented Nicholas. "What will you do now, Fileson?"

"I'll leave," he answered. "I need further preparation to kill this one and you." He brought out a bible and flipped the pages open. "We'll meet again soon." The pages came out and begin to glow yellow. "Next time, I'll get you." These came around the human, and flew to a window. The guy was gone.

"It's over," stated Cosmo. "But he'll be back. I know it."

"The Vatican isn't our main concern right now," said Nicholas. "The real one is the people responsible for these attacks." The rest of the group then notice Napoleon walk over to Pachira.

"Tell me, why didn't you drink the blood?" the male asked.

"I'm not sure," she answered. "I just…" Pachira went silent and Napoleon just brought the female in with his arms.

"It's okay," he responded. "I bet you were frightened. Which is why I'm going to have to train you more." She didn't answer but hugged him back. Everyone else looked on with a smile at this scene. But soon a new threat was going to happen, putting them to the first real test.


	10. Chapter 10

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 10: An Infected City

The group made it back safely but the whole time Pachira and Napoleon couldn't be separated. Well to be more accurate the female kept her arms around the male. He didn't mind at all and would return the gesture with gentle squeezes. Everyone else could see this and while smiling wanted that with another who was with them. Still they thought that maybe the vampires would hook up first. Of course even so there were still dangers that had to be dealt with so maybe relationships weren't the best thing right now. "Tell me, how did you recover after having your head cut off?" asked Pachira to Napoleon.

"Simple, I snuck into a blood bank and filled myself up."

"Dude, what have I said about doing that?" Nicholas asked with a stern look. "I know it's better than humans but still those could've been used to save other lives."

"Then what about next time? I doubt there will be any just lying around that will help me survive another encounter with Fileson. How about any bad guys to get information or spilled blood?"

"If that happens, then okay," the male werewolf stated. "And considering how we might come across that, you have my permission."

"I'm sorry, but how does that help?" asked Pachira.

"You wouldn't know because you haven't drank blood," Napoleon explained. "But human blood when consumed by our kind can help us regenerate from things I went through; one life for another. Not only does drinking blood do that but I can also view the memories of a person whose blood I can consume. The blood bank vitals I had contained those memories. None of them knew anything we didn't already know."

"How much did you have?"

"Ten samples which should last me awhile in terms of regenerating purposes. Before this is over, I'll probably have more lives in me latter."

"All the same make sure you stick to your code and ours when it comes to humans," Nicholas commented. Napoleon nodded in understanding.

"Then what about Fileson?" asked Liru. "You seemed to know him Nicholas."

"I ran into the guy and fought him off a couple of years before meeting you," the male explained. "I managed to fend him off, but thanks to that encounter I'll never forget him."

The next few days were spent resting. Everyone else couldn't help but notice on how close Pachira and Napoleon were. While nothing yet came up between the vampires, the female stuck close to the male. Every chance for her to do something was taken; from snuggling up next to the guy on the couch, to kissing him on the cheek goodnight. While Napoleon didn't make a move, it was only going to be a matter of time. But then the news of a city being attacked by the undead reached the group's ears. This would be the biggest mission as of yet. And lead to quiet the thing found. It all started with the group heading up north. Reports was that rats that were carrying a virus had infect this place and now nearly all the people had become infected. It would be up to them to clear it out and find out what was going on.

The group arrived on the outskirts and made their way in. They arrived on the main street and could see flames from burning sections. Before everyone could move they saw a female about the same age as the males wearing some kind of red vest with brown hair in a ponytail. This person looked normal and was trying to find something. Suddenly infected zombies came out, some burning from the fires come out. Then a male voice sounded out. "Get down!" Looking showed it was a male with hair that was long on one side and short on the other. And it was a young guy wearing a police uniform. He shot at the burning zombies.

The female human then looked up. "Move!" she ordered and tossed a combat knife into a zombie that had come behind the male human and got it in the heart.

"Not bad," stated Nicholas before the male human could responded. His group came out. "I was thinking of helping but it seems you two had things under control."

"Wait, who are you?" asked the male.

"We came here to check out the problem here."

"I never thought any of this stuff my brother taught me would work!" stated the female. She then noticed the group. Logan went over and took the knife out of the dead zombie and saw the letters on the blade. They read F.I.L.E.S.

"F.I.L.E.S… A Special Force issue, huh?" he asked.

"It's my brother's. That's why I'm here… to find him." Everyone in the group was introduced.

"I'm Clare Limefield," said the female.

"Leon Rennedy," commented he male.

"So what exactly is going on around her?" asked Clare as everyone drew a gun.

"No clue," Napoleon answered. "We just got here ourselves." Leon didn't have an answer either.

"Well guess we shouldn't rely on each other to show us around," stated Cosmo with a grin.

"Damn it, I can't get a signal on this thing either," Leon cursed as he tried his hand radio. "Hey, let's go over to the police station. We should be able to find out something there."

"Right," Nicholas agreed. "It could blow up at any minute." With a flick of his fingers, it meant it was time to move.

"So what's your brother's name?" asked Liru to Clare.

"Chris. Christ Limefield."

Suddenly the group turned and saw a few zombies heading for them. And that there was more behind. "Where all they all coming from?!" Logan asked.

"Quick! This way!" stated Leon. Everyone followed him down an alley. The path lead to a door but it wouldn't open. So it was back out and down the main road. It was then down to a gun shop after hearing shouts inside. But they were too late to save the person. Everyone then grabbed what he or she could for more firepower.

"What's wrong with this town?!" Clare asked. "What the hell are they?!"

"Hey, I'm a rookie," the male human replied. "Don't ask me, I just got here."

"They're like zombies," Nicholas explained. "We've encountered them before coming here. Seems like it's a virus of some kind that turns them into these things. "I don't know where it came from, but it's gotten to this town. Most likely either more of these things or rats."

Before anyone else could say anything infected dogs came out followed by more zombies. When it was cleared the male werewolf lead the way. "How come they only attack humans?" Pachira whispered.

"To spread it," Napoleon commented. "But let's not think about that for now. And there's gotta be someone left alive."

More zombies then got in the way and all were dealt with. The path then took them to a set of stairs. Then a voice came on a broadcast system. "Everyone in this vicinity must evacuate to the police station, immediately. An emergency evacuation has been initiated and a rescue team is on its way."

"Nice to hear a human voice," commented Leon. "Let's get out on the main street." Everyone then had to fend off infected crows before heading back down. More enemies had to be dealt with before the station's front entrance was in site.

"Let's take a break," said Cosmo. "Because it looks like it's going to be a long night." They all went inside. The place was deserted and quite. Except for one human who looked wounded with a gun. It was another police officer. Everyone went over to him.

"Hey!" stated Nicholas. "You okay?!"

"Who the hell are you?" asked the second male human and pointed his gun.

"Don't shoot!" stated Leon. "We're human!"

"Oh… the rookie. You like you welcome party? Nice surprise, huh?"

"Who are you?"

"Marvin Branagh. I'm the guy who's supposed to be your boss."

"You need a doctor," said Clare.

"No, don't worry about me. You gotta help the others."

"Alright," stated Nicholas. "But we'll be back."

Everyone went to the door on their left. "Hello?" Liru called out. "Anyone there?" There was no reply. Then it was out of this room and into a hallway, but one that was dark and had blood on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"What is this?" asked Napoleon in shock.

"No…" Pachira whispered.

"Sh!" Leon ordered. "There's something here." The group slowly went forward.

"My god…" Clare said softly.

Suddenly the faint sound of glass breaking was heard and all the females turned. For a brief second they saw something come out and slash at them, knocking all to the ground. "Hey!" shouted Leon. "You alright?! Where did it go?!"

"What was that?!" asked Uma. Nicholas looked up.

"Up there!" He and the males in his group opened fired while the others backed off. Another of the strange things appeared. They looked like clawed four-legged creature with a huge brain like head. The mouths were filled with sharp teeth and the tongues were long. Everyone the retreated and slammed the door behind them shut. However here more zombies had to be fended off. When these were taken care off, one of the creatures from before came back and was dealt with. "It's not safe here anymore," Nicholas growled. The guy then quickly disposed of another tongue creature with his katana.

Then it was into the next section and up some stairs. Eventually this led them to a surprise they weren't expecting. After rounding a corner they saw a small girl of about eight down the hall. "Is that a girl?" asked Claire. The little one gasped and began to run away. "Hey, wait!"

Suddenly another of the creatures with the long tongue came out and was quickly dealt with. Then it was after this new person. The chase took the group all over the place, and they had to deal with many enemies eventually they got back to the room they started in. And Marvin had been turned into a zombie and was killed again. "I'm sorry it turned out like this," Nicholas said when it was over. Then it was down another hallway.

"We gotta find that girl," commented Uma. "What do you wanna do? Split up?"

"No, it's better if we stick together," Logan answered. "After all, I don't want to pull my gun on you or the others."

"Same here," Aiko responded.

The path took them to the computer room of the station. More zombies came out and were dealt with. Then it was outside. "This place is like hell on Earth," Cosmo stated. "Whether you're in the station or outside on the streets, it's all the same." After that was said some infected crows had to be shot down before the group made it safely inside. The right side was chosen and then a bit latter the sound of a helicopter was heard.

"Is that a rescue helicopter?!" Clare asked.

Suddenly something heavy dropped, shaking the foundations of the building and creating a huge amount of dust. "What was that?!" Liru cried. Slowly they walked around the corner and saw a grey skinned humanoid with a trench coat. The eyes glowed yellow.

"What is that?!" Logan asked.

"Did he just come through the roof?!" Leon wondered.

"What do we do?!" Aiko asked.

"Just run!" Nicholas yelled, and everyone backtracked but could see this new creature following them. "Something tells me he ain't going to listen to reason!"

This enemy even though it was fired at seemed very resilient to the bullets. A number of them seemed to cause it to stop and then fall to its knees. "Run! Now!" shouted the male werewolf. Everyone got passed the door.

"What was that thing?!" Clare asked.

"He's a monster!" Leon stated. "Alright… Look, right now our priority is to find that girl." Then everyone heard a crash to see the strange enemy again.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Nicholas growled. With a yell his arms transformed and his katana was out. "Leave this to me and run!" The two human were shocked by this change. The werewolf ran forward with a yell, striking, slashing, punching, and clawing every inch he could reach. The monster was once more sent to its knees.

"Come on!" Liru stated. "Let's move!" Everyone did so but saw the path was blocked by fire. Shooting at a sprinkler above caused water to come out and put it out. Then they heard a scream. Going into the next room found the little girl from before being attacked by a zombie. Even after it was killed, the kid ran off.

"Don't be afraid," said Claire. "We're here to help you. You can trust us!" Eventually they found the girl and Nicholas managed to catch up.

"What happened?" Liru asked to him.

"Not sure." His arms were back to normal. "I think I managed to kill it. I can't be too sure though." The guy then spotted the little girl. "I see you finally managed to catch up."

"Yes," Claire responded and got down on her knees to get eye level with the little one. "I'm Claire. What's your name?"

"Sherry…" She then turned to run again.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

"My mommy and daddy's lab is in the basement."

"Then let's go," said Nicholas. "Maybe we'll get some answers there."

"Wait, what about you?" asked Leon. "You're not human are you? I saw the way your arms transformed. How do we know you're not on their side?"

The male werewolf let out a sigh. "Let's just get down to the basement. I'll explain along the way." The elevator ride had enough time to do so. Leon and Claire couldn't believe it but after everything they had seen the two had no choice but to accept it.

The doors of the elevator opened and everyone got out. But just as they did another of the monsters with long tongues came out. Logan deal with the problem with a blast of lighting. Then around the corner were strange creatures with small tentacles, mouths, and a tail. Nicholas disposed of them with his katana. When beaten they melted into nothing. "What the hell?" asked Leon.

"I don't know," Nicholas answered. "Probably a product produced by something. And there's something back there behind the door."

He slowly opened it and everyone went inside. The room was somewhat darkened in the corners and there was a pit. A hospital bed was here along with a dead body of a grown female. From the shadows a man stepped out. He had a scalpel and wore former cloths with a tie. "isn't she beautiful?" he asked and walked over to the dead body. "I was about to stuff her."

In that instant the male monsters could tell this guy was insane and were on guard. Leon on the other hand couldn't believe who it was. "Chief Irons…?" he asked.

"You know him?" asked Claire.

"Prowling around at a time like this. You're after D, too. Aren't you?"

"D?" Leon responded.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Irons snapped and then looked to see the final member of the party. "Aren't you Dr. Rirkin's…" Suddenly the scalpel dropped from his hand and he coughed up some gunk that was slimy and gross. Everyone took a step back in shock as they saw something beginning to erupt from Irons. He pulled the table with the dead body on it over. "It can't be…" Irons groaned. "This was not suppose to happen!" A strange creature with dead colored skin came out from the upper half of the body. It landed and the enemy human was dead. It had a tail, walked on two legs, and had one small arm and one huge one. It turned its head and the group could see drool coming from its mouth as it let out a monster like growl.

"Sherry!" Claire stated.

"Hold on!" Nicholas ordered and his arms along with Liru's changed. She had gotten better at transformations by this point. "We have to stop this thing first!"

The monster let out a roar and with a back swing launched the bed the dead body had been on at the group. Cosmo yelled and with a punch sent it flying away. The strength was enough that his right fist was smoking and the thing was bent in half. Nicholas let out a shout and fully transformed into a werewolf alone with Liru. Napoleon snarled and whipped out his guns, firing with everything he had. Logan and Uma brought out their wands and began to chant in rapid unison. "Where's Sherry?!" Claire asked as she fired as well.

"I don't know!" Leon responded who also fired. "Let's just take care of this thing first!"

Suddenly the monster managed to grab Nicholas with its monstrous hand and threw the male back. The guy landed in a pit that had a foot of dark liquid. Looking up he saw the same tentacle like creatures coming down from above and disposed of them. The werewolf climbed back up to see the huge enemy spewing them out from its mouth. "So that's where they're coming from!" he growled. These were quickly taken out and the enemy lumbered forward while still taking damage. Suddenly it managed to grab Claire.

"Let go of me!" she shouted. The female human fired just as Nicholas came in with his katana and stab the thing in the head. These two attacks caused the monster to let go of Claire. A few of the group then got around the creature and saw something.

"What is that…" asked Pachira. "An eyeball?!" They could clearly see one. A huge pulsating one protruding from beneath the arm and on the back.

"I guess it wants some more!" Napoleon commented and fired. The monster whipped around to face them after some damage had been done to this area. It began to fail about. "Watch out for its arm!"

This fighting kept up for a bit more until the enemy fell the to the ground. "Let's hope it stays down," said Logan.

"What's D?" asked Leon as Nicholas and Liru went back to normal. "What does it stand for?"

"I have no idea," the male werewolf responded. "But we should find Sherry first. Seems she managed to get to safety before the fight really broke out."

The group went on and made it to a parking garage. "Sherry!" Uma called out. "Sherry! Answer if you can hear me!"

A moaning sound was heard and everyone was shocked to see more zombies. "Sorry but I ain't got time for this," Logan commented who use his gun instead of magic this time to deal with the enemy. "She must have come this way."

Suddenly the sound of a gunshot was heard. Everyone could see mutated dogs running to the right in front of them. Looking saw a woman of Chinese descent take care of the zombie dogs. She even used a kick to send the last one flying back and breaking its neck. "Nice moves," Nicholas commented.

"Are you alright?" Leon asked.

"Yes I'm fine thank you," the new human responded. The male human introduced the entire group to her.

"Ada Long," she responded when asked what her name was. "Hey, you're a cop here right? Do you know a Ben Bertolucci? I'm looking for him."

"Sorry, but I just got assigned here," Leon answered.

"What are you doing here?" Nicholas asked.

"Ben has information regarding this crisis," Ada stated.

"What kind of information?"

"Not sure exactly… But that's what I'm here to find out." The new female human began to walk away.

"Hey!" Leon stated.

"What is with her?!" Claire asked and got to Ada. Before anything else could be said the second one cocked her gun.

"Behind you!"

It was more zombies and they were quickly taken care of. "Jesus!" Nicholas yelped. "Didn't even see them coming!" Looking then saw Ada go through a door.

"Hey wait!" Claire commented.

"Hold up!" Leon said. "Look… I know we don't know each other, but we're the only survivors left. We need to work together."

"Shh!" Napoleon whispered. "I hear something. What is it?!" The group then heard the sound of another male.

"No, get away from me!" It was panicked.

"Ben?!" asked Ada. They then heard the screams and then silence.

"Something coming this way!" Pachira stated and the group got back and looked around a corner. What they saw was a humanoid figure, bigger than any of them with dead looking skin, a huge right arm, but a mostly human face.

"What the hell…?!" Claire whispered.

"It's ok, it doesn't know we're here," Nicholas said. They waited and heard a door open. The creature must have gone through it. "I think it's gone now."

It was decided to check where the scream had come from. There were a couple of prison holding cells. The second one had the person. But he was dead with blood everywhere. "Oh, god…" Liru gasped. "That scream we just heard… it must have been him."

"That's Ben," Ada commented. She then looked up. "There's something on the wall."

Uma went up and read the writing. "With no hope of survival I write this."

"He must be talking about the Police Department's involvement with the pharmaceutical giant, Rindella," said Claire.

"Rindella?" Nicholas asked. This was a potential clue as to what was going on with these monsters appearing.

"Look at this," commented Leon and read more of the writing. "The station and the lower level lab at Rindella are connected by a sewer. If we can access that sewer, we can get out of here."

Everyone turned and saw Ada was gone. "Hey where'd she go?" asked Cosmo. "She was just here!"

Nicholas sniffed the air. Being a werewolf meant he had a good sense of smell and could track people. "This way," he said. "I can smell her. Most likely heading for the sewer."

There were some enemies that had to be beaten before they found a ladder that lead down to the sewer. "God it stinks," Claire complained. "I hate sewers."

Everyone went down were a new type of enemy popped up; huge spiders with sickly colored bodies that were quickly taken out. A bit latter and through a gate, they were out of the sewers. Only to come across more zombies which were killed quickly. Then it was through another door that lead to a room that was quite large with boxes. It looked like a storage room that had a couple of paths with rails that were over a pit. The group slowly walked in. Nicholas then turned his head and saw the huge creature from before with the huge right arm and mostly human face. Up close there was a second pair of arms crossed in front of the body along with an eye similar to what had been seen before. This thing wielded a pipe in the right hand.

"What now?!" asked the male werewolf as it swung, causing everyone to scatter.

"It's that thing again!" Aiko cried out and got behind Cosmo.

Nicholas and Liru transformed fully while Napoleon's fangs grew longer. "Come on!" shouted the male vampire and all three fired along with Leon. While this enemy took damage, the bullets didn't seem to fully finish it off. After some firing everyone retreated back to get some distance.

"I don't think we can beat this thing!" Uma stated.

"We have to or we're dead!" Cosmo shot back and with a shout fired ice from his wand. The creature just broke it; this move hadn't slowed it down at all. Nicholas went in with his katana, slashing the pipe to bits before attacking the enemy. The thing just let out a roar and grabbed him.

"Damn it!" the male snarled. "Let go!" With a stab in the creature's hand, it dropped the werewolf over the edge of one of the walkways. Everyone else fired so Nicholas could climb up. Then the entire group shot at the enemy so that the creature backed up. But it was one step too many and it fell over the edge and down below.

"We did it!" Claire stated as she caught her breath. Everyone looked over on one of the walkways. Suddenly there was a sound of something breaking and part of it fell down, taking Leon and Nicholas with it before anyone could react.

"NICHOLAS!" Liru screamed. Everyone else couldn't believe it. But thanks to this the male werewolf was going to find out something that would answer some questions.


	11. Chapter 11

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 11: Monstrosity

As it turned out Leon and Nicholas managed to survive their fall. Now both were walking through another section of the sewers. Suddenly they heard a gun shot and ran forward. Looking around a corner they saw a familiar female. "Ada!" Leon called to her.

"There's nothing here for you thief!" stated another voice that belonged to a different woman.

The two males saw Ada look down towards where her gun was on the floor. They knew what she was going to do. "Ada, no!" Leon shouted just as she moved. The gun was knocked away by another shot. Now the two guys could see the one who had talked before. She was wearing a lab coat and had a gun herself.

"Farewell," she whispered. Leon and Nicholas moved; the male human pushed Ada to the ground while the werewolf deflected the shot with his katana. He was that good. The enemy saw this and ran.

"So what now?" the werewolf asked. Leon and Ada both got up. "Who was that woman? She was about to kill you."

"That's my problem," she responded. "Not yours."

"Fine," stated Leon. "Don't tell us. But you better start working with me here, or we'll never make it out of this alive." Something in his look seemed to convince her and Ada nodded. This woman then took off while the two males went to find the others. The others managed to find the two guys at a junction in the sewers.

"Leon!" Claire stated. Liru just ran to Nicholas and threw her arms around him.

"You're alright," the female whispered. "I thought…"

"I'm not going anywhere," he answered. "I promise…" She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Let's go," stated Logan. "We need to find Sherry." The humans turned on their flashlights. "Dark in here huh?"

"Yeah good thing you two have those," Cosmo commented. "We're fine, but I'm not so sure about you guys."

At that moment a few zombies came out, including a mutated frog. "Better be careful in this water from now on," Logan said when the enemies were dead.

"We just can't seem to catch a break in this place," Uma commented. Claire suddenly turned and saw more of the mutated spiders again. These were quickly shot down.

"Go now!" Napoleon shouted and everyone ran down the passage in the sewer.

"Wait, stop!" Leon ordered as some zombies dropped down from above. After these were taken care of everyone moved only to run into more spiders. Nicholas slashed them down with his katana. Then after a few more enemies a dead end appeared. Liru noticed a ladder to the left and everyone slowly climbed up it. The path lead towards a tunnel that had a green colored fan that was rotating. There was a vent above and after approaching it roaches that were huge came swarming out.

"Ugh!" Leon commented. "These things are fricken huge!"

The females all let out screams and began to attack. But due to them freaking out, the aim was poor. "You're fine, calm down!" the male human shouted. But the ones firing didn't listen.

"Everyone get back!" Logan yelled and with his wand jerked them back. He barred his teeth in a snarl before saying the next sentience slowly. "You obviously do not know WHOM YOU ARE FUCKING WITH!" With a yell he sent a trail of fire, which roasted all of the insects. When that was done Cosmo blasted away the fan.

"Come on!" Aiko cried. "Let's get out of here!"

Everyone went forward to another ladder that only went down to another section of the area they had just left. "Oh great," Leon grumbled. "Back into the sewers."

Everyone climbed down and had to fend off quite a few zombies. The group then went down a path, away from the remaining ones. But even this wasn't safe as there were more enemies. "Enough is enough!" Nicholas shouted. "I've had it with these mother fucking zombies in this mother fucking sewer!"

All the enemies were taken care of and then it was up another ladder. Sadly this didn't go anywhere at all but another way to the sewers. Everyone went through this path and just before they could turn, an enemy dropped down from above. To their shock it was the grey skinned humanoid with the trench coat. "It's him again!" Leon stated.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding," Nicholas growled. "Shit, run!" He and the other males fired before following the females. "He's going to be harder to loose than I thought!"

It took a bit of work but the group managed to do so. Now it was only a matter of getting away. That is until they saw a familiar person. "Sherry!" Claire cried out. "Wait!"

"If we loose her this time, we'll never find her again," Leon commented. Everyone ran and got through a door that was clearly the one that had been entered by Sherry. They could see there were in a room that had a platform and a few tanks. The group went forward and found another door. Just as they were about to enter a new female voice sounded out.

"Don't move!" They all whipped around to see the same woman who had shot Ada. This person also had a gun. "What is your intention here?"

"Our intention?" Nicholas repeated. "We just want to get out of this city alive."

"I don't think you understand what's going on here," Liru commented. "Now is not the time for us to be pulling guns on each other! This city has been destroyed!"

"…So?" asked the other woman.

"Please, we don't have time for this."

"Have you seen a little girl?" Leon asked.

"She's about ten years old, her name is Sherry," Claire stated.

"Sherry?!" the new woman asked in shock and lowered the gun she had to the side.

"Do you know her?"

"Sherry is my daughter." This sent a shock through everyone. "I told her to hide in the Police Station… William must be after her."

"William?" Claire asked.

"William Rirkin… He's Sherry's father. And the man who turned this city into a living hell to protect D."

"D again? What the hell is a D?" Napoleon asked.

"The D-Virus… It's the next generation virus that William and I developed, at our daughter's expense…"

"A next generation virus?" Logan asked.

"Yes," Sherry's mother stated. "It conforms a living thing and rapidly evolves it to transcendental levels. A boon for these modern times… Or so it was supposed to be. My husband was shot by men hired by Rindella and acquired all the D samples. All but one that William injected himself with to save his life. But the virus was flawed. Even if you survive the seroconversion with D…. You become nothing more than a puppet to its will. Our research was a failure. His only concern now is to procreate. People with a genetic makeup similar to his own could stand to birth superior offspring."

Suddenly the sound of a little girl screaming could be heard. Everyone looked up in shock. "Sherry!" stated her mother.

"Come on!" said Claire. "We have to help her!" This female began to run in the direction.

"I can't. I've got unfinished business to attend to."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Claire scuffed and ran towards the scream, leaving the room. The others got up to follow.

"If the embryo's been implanted only the vaccine from the underground lab could save her." Nicholas and Leon heard this before they went after the rest. "William… Its time to finish this." In her left hand were some special looking bullets.

Meanwhile the rest of the group went through a door and saw Sherry being attacked by another zombie. Claire killed it but then the little girl ran away. "I'm scared!" she cried.

"Wait, Sherry!" Claire called out and ran after her. "It's me, Claire!" Everyone went after her. "Sherry, stop!"

They caught up to her. "Everything's alright," said Leon. "It's us."

Suddenly something seemed to ram into the floor, creating a huge shock wave. "What's going on?" Nicholas growled. It happened again and this time dust came out showing a wall had been broken.

"An earthquake?!" Pachira asked.

"That's no earthquake!" Napoleon answered.

"What was that?" Claire asked.

"Shit!" Logan cursed. "I don't believe this!" Everyone looked as saw a humongous alligator burst its way in. One look showed it was infected. Sherry ran for cover as the monster let out a roar.

"How the hell are we gonna kill this thing?!" Liru asked as she and Nicholas transformed.

"Aim for the head and mouth!" he responded. Everyone fired and that seemed to do some damage. The enemy created a huge cloud of dust by breaking more of the wall, obscuring their view. But not for the monsters who thanks to the ruin to help them see better, saw right through it. Cosmo noticed a valve above the alligator.

"I think we can use that!" He pointed and everyone saw it. They fired, creating an explosion of fire and twisted metal. That seemed to do the trick as the enemy fell to the ground, dead.

"Did we kill it?" Leon asked. Suddenly the thing reared up. "Playing dead… that's kind of sweet."

"What are you talking about?" Claire asked sarcastically as everyone backed up to fire at the enemy's mouth. They then moved back the way they came, looking for another valve to use. There weren't any they could see. The group then saw the enemy rear for another attack.

"Move!" Napoleon shouted. Everyone did, avoiding the teeth and body and heading back to where the battle originally began.

"He's coming," the male werewolf growled. "I can smell it." The creature did so and Nicholas shot it in the mouth.

"I can't take much more of this!" Aiko cried out.

They ran back a bit and Cosmo noticed some canisters to the sides. "I think that'll help!" He shot at one, breaking the chains, making it fall into the path of the enemy. The alligator clamped down on it. "Shot it!"

Claire and Leon did causing another explosion of fire. This time the enemy was down for good. "Finally it's over," said Napoleon. "I hope Sherry didn't go too far."

"She should be ok," Uma commented. "I think she now knows we're on her side."

They managed to catch up to her. After doing so, they managed to escape from the underground sewer only to be faced with a new problem. Sherry became sick. She told the rest that while she had been wandering the depths of the sewers, she had been implanted with a D embryo. But it wasn't too late. The group began their journey into the bowels of Rindella's facility to retrieve the vaccine. Now the group had finished descending down by an elevator and Leon was carrying Sherry in his arms. They lay the little girl in a security office, wearing Clare's jacket.

"How do you feel?" the said female asked as Sherry was regaining conscious. "It's okay, you're safe here." The younger female began to take off the jacket, but the older one went to her side. "It's yours now. For good luck."

"Thank you," Sherry responded weakly and lay back down.

"You miss your mommy and daddy?"

"No. They're always more preoccupied with their research. But you know… I prefer to be alone."

"Come on," Nicholas stated. "She's going to get worse. We'd better get going. Sherry, just hang in there. We're going to get the vaccine to make you better, okay? We'll be back. I promise." With that the group left the office.

"We'll have to search the rooms one-by-one," said Liru.

"Wait, I'm picking up something," commented Leon. "A signal…" He answered his radio.

"A radio signal?" Aiko asked. "From whom?"

"Do you read me?" came the reply.

"Sherry's mother?" Claire asked.

"Is Sherry there?"

"Yeah," Leon answered. "She was attacked. She's in critical condition. Where are you now?" There was no answer. "Hey, you still there?"

"Be careful… Especially with that woman."

"What woman?"

"Ada. She's a special agent sent here to retrieve the D sample. She was approaching the researchers and obtaining information about Rindella. She'll do whatever it takes to accomplish her purpose. She's highly dangerous."

The group couldn't believe it but especially Leon. "I think you're wrong," he stated. "You don't know what you're talking about. Ada isn't… " The guy then realized there was nobody anymore on the other end of the line by the static that was heard. "Dammit. She hung up on me."

"Look, we don't have time for her right now," said Nicholas.

"I know," Leon replied. "Finding the vaccine for Sherry is our top priority."

Let's go," Claire stated but then turned to see some zombies. "You've gotta be kidding me." These were quickly taken care of as well as the ones that came from behind. Suddenly the same guy with the trench coat from before descended down.

"It's Trenchy, again!" Leon yelled. "Why won't he just leave us alone?" Liru and Nicholas transformed again.

"We can't fight him here!" the female werewolf stated. "Sherry's right next door!"

"This way!" Uma said.

"Come on, Trenchy!" Logan taunted as they followed the witch. "You want some of this?"

The chase lead went into a place that was made of metal, with platforms above a pit. In the middle was an area that had some control panel. The enemy had quickly caught up. "Whoa!" Aiko gasped. "He's fast!"

The rest fighting ran to another section, which showed there was more than one entrance here with the creature waiting for them. It raised both fist to strike down Pachira. The female vampire was barely able to dodge this attack. "There's nowhere to hide!" Napoleon snarled.

After some more shots, the creature went to its knees. "Run!" Leon ordered. "We need to get him further away!" The enemy then rose up.

"That got his attention!" Claire stated. Everyone ran for the door behind them as the creature slowly advanced. Nobody saw Ada looking down from above.

"Leon," she said softly.

The group in the meantime ran back to the entrance they had come to from before to an elevator door with the enemy on their trial. There was an elevator, which they took down. "You think he'll come after us?" Aiko asked in a scared voice, clutching Logan's arm.

"That persistent thing?" he commented. "I wouldn't doubt it."

"At least we got him away from Sherry," Claire said. "But there's no way to take him down."

"We need a plan," Cosmo stated. "We're running out of time."

At that moment the doors to the elevator opened to show they were at the lab area. And right in front of them was some kind of plant that walked on thin legs and had multiple thing arms like vines. "What the hell?!" Liru asked. She fired at the creature, which went down. "What was it?! A plant?! Human?!"

"I don't think it's either one," Nicholas said. "And we don't have time to figure it out!"

"Yeah let's go."

The group then had to deal with three of the enemies that had long tongues. After them came more of the plant enemies followed by zombies, some of which were just flesh with no clothes on at all. "I don't think he's coming after us," said Claire but then a thought struck her. "Wait you don't think he's going after Sherry?"

"No I'm pretty sure he's following us," Cosmo replied. Suddenly a rumbling rocked the area. "See. I was right."

The group ran down the hall while taking out more enemies. Just as the last one went down the grey skinned creature came. "We got him out here," said Liru. "Now what? How are we supposed to kill that thing?!"

"For now we've got no choice but to run," Nicholas answered which is what everyone did. They then turned and saw the creature had already caught up.

"It's so hot in here!" Claire stated and everyone felt the heat. They went back and noticed some railings that were meant as guards for a pit.

"Wait! Down there!" said Leon. Everyone looked and most could tell what it was because of the hot liquid that was producing the heat down below. "The blast furnace! If we can just push him over…"

"Alright, come on now, Trenchy!" Nicholas taunted and he and Liru fully transformed. "Let's finish this once and for all!" The enemy followed and the fight was on.

Everyone opened fired at the enemy's head as it seemed to be the main weak point. After some of this the group backed off. "Lure him to the edge!" Napoleon stated. They could see the creature heading towards them, having recovered.

"It's gonna end right here, Trenchy!" Leon taunted.

Nicholas went in this time with his katana. The blade was a blur like he was wielding four swords at once. After a number of hits, the enemy faltered. "Just a little more…" the male werewolf growled, quickly looking over the edge.

The creature tightened its fist and raised both to attack. Napoleon was the one to send the next well aim shot at the head. Backing off the enemy came in for another attack but was stopped. Then it charged in but everyone moved out of its way. "Gotcha!" the male vampire stated. Suddenly he was grabbed by the creature and taken over the edge to the next level below. The rest followed down.

"Are you alright?" Pachira asked, going to his side.

"I think so," he responded and gave her right arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Where did he go?!" Leon asked. They couldn't see the enemy.

"What's that?" Aiko asked, looking over to the center of the platform they were on. Everyone went over.

"It's a control panel," Cosmo answered. "Probably for the blast furnace."

Suddenly they all heard the sound of something flexing. Whirling around it was the enemy with both fists raised. The group barely made it before these came smashing down into the control, breaking it. A feminine voice then came out on a loud speaker. "Warning! Safety hazard has been detected. Please rectify the cause, immediately. If the current emergency state is not resolved, self-destruct system will be activated."

"Self destruct?!" Leon asked as the fight continued.

"I can't believe this!" Claire stated.

"We're sitting ducks in here!" Nicholas growled. "This way, hurry!" The group went down a ladder to the final floor that was above the molten liquid. "Good, we can fight him now." He went to the edge.

"Watch out!" Liru warned. "There aren't any handrails!"

"Even better!"

Everyone then turned and saw the creature. "There you are," Leon replied. The final phase began. While the enemy did run to attack, making it harder to hit, it wasn't impossible. "C'mon!" stated the male human after a round of this. "Is that all you got?!"

"He looks angry!" Claire pointed out after two more rounds of this had gone by.

"Good!" Napoleon responded. He then taunted the enemy. "I'm right here! What you gonna do?!"

The creature raised its right fist up and jumped high in the air. The male vampire moved as the enemy came down, the fist leaving a huge indentation in the metal floor where Napoleon had been.

A couple more rounds then happened. "Just one more push…" Cosmo stated. The final blow was given by Nicholas. "Good! Now!"

Steam then came out, obscuring the creature. It reached down and with monstrous strength ripped off one of the metal panels. Claire was on it and got knocked over the edge. "Claire!" Leon yelled. The metal landed in the molten liquid. The guy looked over the edge and could see the female on the final level.

"Don't worry, I'm alright!" she responded.

Suddenly the enemy grabbed Leon from behind and threw him. He landed painfully and was then picked up by the head. The creature's fist was big enough to do so. Before anyone could react, something came out and hit the enemy in the back. They all turned and saw it was Ada who had fired a small rocket, big enough to fit inside a tube of lipstick. The thing exploded, causing the creature to drop Leon and go to its knees. The female cocked a gun at the enemy's head. "Just another of Rindella's failed experiments…"

The creature suddenly looked up and grabbed her gun. Ada pulled the trigger, which caught the enemy right in the eye, brining out blood. Roaring in pain, the creature threw the female into the pillar that had the controls for the furnace. The thing grabbed its head in agony and stepped back. It was one too many and it fell over the edge. Everyone else saw it fall into the molten liquid. "Walk away from that you son of a bitch," Nicholas growled. He and Liru transformed back into their regular forms. Leon ran right over to Ada.

"Ada!" he exclaimed, and placed his arms under the female human. She opened her eyes.

"This place is gonna blow," she replied. "There isn't much time left. Leon… You have to get out of here."

"No, not without you," he answered.

"It's strange. I barely know you, but I knew you would say that." Her right hand came up to stroke the male's face.

"Ada…" Leon breathed. The two met in a kiss which some of the others in the group noticed.

"Favor returned," Ada replied before slipping back to unconsciousness. The male human had no choice but leave the female behind since she appeared to be dead.

"Guys, we're really out of time," said Claire as a warning siren came on. "Some of you stay here and I'll go get Sherry's vacc-"

"It's too dangerous," Nicholas interrupted her. "We're all going with you." The female human nodded in thanks. "Let's do this."

"I don't know what's going on here, but I don't think time is on our side," Uma commented.

The group headed back the way they came and had to deal with a few zombies. Around the next corner some came from above and lying on the ground. But more kept coming from behind. "Great!" Napoleon yelled. "Do we really have to waste bullets on you guys?!"

Claire threw a grenade, which took care of most of them. Soon everyone was back on the elevator that had been used before. They were then heading back up and back to the same area from before were more zombies were taken out. "We need to find the entrance to the lab," Cosmo commented.

"Yeah, let's go," Aiko replied. "We're running out of time."

The group went through a door that lead them to an area that had multiple ways to get in but also a center area with controls. "I guess it won't be that easy, huh?" Leon asked as he saw the zombies in here. Everyone fired, disposing of them. They then went down to another door.

It was here that in a hallway Sherry's mother had been cornered by William. He was even more mutated. Now he had four arms, one of which was clawed, the last of his human head buried but still visible in the chest of the new body. The color was black. The creature began to advance. "William! Don't you recognize me?!" the female human asked. "I'm your wife, Annette!" She held up her left hand, showing the ring on it. William stopped as well and seemed to regard her. Annette loaded a gun with special bullets. "William, I'm sorry. But I've got to put an end to D."

The creature roared and lunged forward just as she fired. A few moments latter the group arrived and William was nowhere to be seen. Annette was up against the wall, breathing heavily. Blood poured from a wound on her. Everyone else rushed over. "D is… growing even stronger," Annette managed to choke out. Logan could tell it was too late to save her even with his magic. Had he been here earlier the wizard could have done something. "If you don't stop this, Sherry will…" The human female couldn't finish the thought. But there was no need to; everyone understood.

"Annette… please, we need to find the vaccine," said Claire.

"The P-4 Lab on the bottom floor… Please…" Annette grabbed Nicholas's left arm. "Help Sherry. Tell her… That even though I failed as a mother… I have always loved her." Her arm fell and the female died.

"Let's go," said the male werewolf. "We need to find a way down to the lowest level."

The group found a door and went through to find some stairs, but it was beginning to be over run by plant life. "What is this place?" Leon asked.

Two more plant like enemies had to be defeated. And everyone could see a stalk of some kind that was moving. It had to be the leader of the plant like creatures. Then it was a climb down and through a door were regular zombies had to be taken care of. But then came a couple of cleared areas with no enemies. Although there were corpses on the floor. From there it was onto a straight path. "It's so quite," Liru commented as they went down another hall.

"Yeah…" Logan replied. "Not to mention…"

They then came into a surveillance room. Some of the monitors were working, and some weren't. There were also files in here that Nicholas grabbed and began to quickly look through. They all had information on the different types of enemies that had been encountered so far.

Cosmo went up to one of the screens and saw something that made his breath catch in his throat. "Guys, look at this!" Everyone else did and saw the hallway they had just come from. But something was coming; another of the enemies with long tongues. Thanks to the files Nicholas had picked up the male was able to identify them as Lickers. The name made sense. It then came along with a couple more, which were quickly shot at. Then it was through another door that had strange walls that looked like the inside of nest.

"What did this?" Leon asked. Suddenly he looked up. "Goddammit!" Above were huge grubs of some kind that were shot down before they could attack. What came next was something wasn't expected. A huge moth of some kind.

"Oh my god!" Claire exclaimed.

"It's huge!" Logan said. He and Uma used their magic to whip up some fire to fry the enemy along with more grubs which looking closer were actually larvae. Aiko then looked to her left and saw the door.

"P-4 area lab! Let's go!" she exclaimed.

They went in and made it to a control panel that would make the vaccine. "Let me at it," Cosmo said as he began to do the work. The rest of the group had to attack the zombies that came in. "There it's ready." The male android pocketed it and everyone headed back towards Sherry. The group made their way back, fighting off all that stood in their way.

Then another announcement came on. "Self destruct countdown initiated. East Area lockdown complete. All employees must evacuate to the platform immediately."

"We have to hurry!" Claire exclaimed as the group made it to a section that had an override system and was in a column like structure. Platforms connected to it that led to other areas. They had just gotten to the control section when a metal pipe came out of nowhere, hitting the controls, and shutting them down.

"What the?!" Liru asked.

"God dammit!" Nicholas growled. "What's going on?!"

Then to their surprise and horror, William came in. "Is that William?!" Claire gasped.

The enemy reared its big clawed hand back but Leon along with Napoleon were ready and fired at the eye like structure on it. Both werewolves transformed and got in the next strikes. A couple more then happened. "Now!" Claire ordered and the whole group went out of the control area to a door.

"What?!" Uma asked in horror. "it's jammed!"

"It's because the system is down!" Cosmo explained as they all turned to face the enemy.

"It's coming!" Claire cried as William jumped high in the air. Before he could come down with his huge left clawed hand, Napoleon and the rest of the guys fired, causing the mutated male to go to his knees. Then a couple more shots at the huge eyeball brought the enemy down.

"Is he dead?" Aiko asked.

"Yeah, he's dead," Logan answered.

"I'm not so sure," Nicholas commented. The male werewolf could still see the eye like structure twitching.

"We need to reboot the system," said Pachira. "Otherwise we won't be able to get back to Sherry." The group then hurried a grunt and turned around to see William's mutated body stirring but also smoking.

"What the-?!" Leon asked.

"I knew it!" Nicholas snarled.

"Did he transform?" Liru whispered.

"Shit!" the male human commented. "I thought we killed him!"

William rose up and turned to the group with a roar. They could see the head at the top was white with glowing red eyes. The human head he once had was gone. Some kind of ring with spikes was in the chest area. Both of the regular arms were clawed along with the other two that were in a wing like position. The skin color was grey with dull red in some parts. "Here he comes!" Napoleon yelled out.

"I don't believe this!" Leon commented as the enemy came in with a kick that sent the group scattering. For a brief moment another throbbing eye could be seen on the back of one of the arms. Cosmo and Logan fired at it, causing some damage. Another shot caused the enemy to falter.

"Now!" Claire stated. "We might be able to get through another door!" She had hardly moved when the mutated enemy came down. The female was just able to dodge the attack.

"How the hell did he get so strong?!" Logan asked.

"He must have evolved!" Uma cried.

"Is this what the D-Virus does?!"

Suddenly William came bursting in from below and these two were barely able to dodge the attack. "What are we gonna do?!" Leon asked after a few shots were fired.

"Keep fighting back!" Nicholas growled and struck with his katana. Eventually enough slashes from the guy were enough to send the enemy over the edge.

"We did it!" Liru stated. But a few moments passed and the sound of grunting and climbing could be heard. The group then saw William climbing the wall. "Oh god…"

The enemy had transformed into a four legged creature with two extra arms. The spikes on the chest had now become a mouth with the lower jaw of the grey head becoming part of it. "I don't believe it!" Logan exclaimed. "He's getting bigger!"

The mutated enemy jumped down from above, and would have crushed Claire and Liru had the two not moved at the last second. Getting up they saw some of the platform had been taken after William had landed. "This is crazy!" Nicholas stated as the mutated enemy climbed back up. The process of evading and firing kept up for a few minutes. At one point the enemy managed to grab the female werewolf who attacked with everything she had. Dropping her, William fell to the edge of broken section of platform. He then tried to climb back up.

"I'd hate to see what would happen if this thing ever got out!" Logan stated as he fired.

"We need to finish him off right here and now!" Pachira commented. Suddenly William lashed out and Liru slid down the broken section since it had been bent downward. She was somehow able to hold on.

"LIRU!" Nicholas shouted.

"I'm bringing you down!" the female werewolf stated and attacked. It was enough and the mutated enemy let go, fallen down bellow.

"Did we do it?" Claire asked weakly.

"We don't have time to wait around and find out," Leon answered. "Once we give Sherry the vaccine, we're outta here."

Liru was pulled up by Nicholas and in his arms. "Thank god…" he whispered. "I thought you were going to die."

She blushed but hugged him back. "Never," the female responded. "Come on, let's move."

The group made it back to Sherry and the vaccine worked. But time was running out. The seconds of the countdown to self-destruct slipping by, and their only escape was through a hidden subway. They could tell by the announcement that came on. "Initiating final stage of the facility self destruct protocol. All employees must evacuate to the platform immediately."

"Let's go," stated Leon. "We're done here."

"Come on Sherry," said Claire.

"Ok," the little female responded.

"Move!" Nicholas yelled as he slashed at some plant like enemies who stood in the way. More enemies came out as the group began to make their way down. "Great! I guess this is the farewell party."

They quickly made it to the elevator and down to the level where the subway was. Inside there were a couple trains that were rectangular in shape, colored dull red and white. Before they could get on, everyone turned to see to their surprise the same grey skinned creature that had been defeated in the blast furnace except the trench coat was off, revealing a muscular body. Parts of it had some kind of orange lines, the hands had gotten bigger and clawed. "Wait! You're-" Leon stated.

"I thought he fell into the blast furnace…?! said Claire.

"God damn it! He's supposed to be dead!"

"This thing won't go down easily!" Nicholas snarled as he and Liru fully transformed. "This thing's a Titan! The ultimate life form that keeps evolving! I read about in those files we picked up! It's hard to kill these thing since they can regenerate!"

"We've gotta stop him!" Claire stated as everyone began to attack. "Sherry, get on! Hurry!"

"Alright! Be careful!" she replied.

After the younger female got on, the others kept firing. After a certain amount of hits, Leon looked behind him. "The stairs!" he stated, and everyone ran for them. There was a section above the vehicles and the enemy jumped up to where they were with its incredible strength. Then a game of chase, moving, and attacking began. It went all over the room with trying to defeat this enemy. At one point the guy even used his immense strength to move one of the empty trains down the track to crush some of the group. Then came a moment when the titan jumped up, trying to spear some of them on the claws it had. But it got stuck in the ground, which everyone used to deliver the final blow. But when that happened the creature was able to become unstuck and jumped back. The group could see it flexing and healing. "No way!" Leon stated. "Is he regenerating?!"

"I told you this thing could do so!" Nicholas stated.

"How the hell are we supposed to kill this freak?!" Claire asked.

Suddenly a familiar voice could be heard. "Here! Use this!" Everyone turned to see a rocket launcher.

"That voice…" said Liru. "But how?"

"Damn it!" Logan stated. "You son of a…!" Cosmo picked up the new weapon as the rest focused on the enemy who was jumping around the place before coming in for an attack. Luckily everyone was able to move out of the way before attacking. Then the male android fired, killing this thing for good.

"We got him!" Claire exclaimed. Leon looked back to where the voice had come from. The one that belonged to Ada.

"That voice we heard…" he said.

"Leon, hurry!" Nicholas stated as the rest of the group began to board the train. The male human came with them. Soon the vehicle was moving, away from the area that would blow up. Liru was next to the male werewolf, holding onto him for comfort. Likewise he had his arm around her.

"It's over…" said Napoleon.

"Not yet," Claire replied. "I still have to find my brother."

"Then when we get out of here you should rest at our place," Nicholas commented. "We have enough room."

Suddenly something shook the whole train, which everyone felt. "What the…?!" Logan asked. "What was that?!"

"Claire?" Sherry asked in a scared voice.

"Everything's alright," replied the older female human. "I'll go have a look."

She and the group made their way to where the source of the shaking had come from. Suddenly from the very last car in front of them came a tentacle. The section bulged outward and came apart as a monstrous monster of large size destroyed the door. More tentacles came into the car as the creature let out a groan. "Sheeerryyy…!"

"Guys, it's him again, isn't it!" Claire exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's William!" Leon commented. The rest of the mass emerged, showing how much the guy had mutated. Now it was just a blob with tentacles and eyes like before.

"He followed us all this way?!" Nicholas stated as he and Liru fully transformed.

"This is ridiculous!" Pachira exclaimed.

"Bastard!" Napoleon snarled. "We've gotta ditch this thing!"

"Shreeerrryyy!" William moaned loudly as the tentacles were shot to make them back off. Everyone fired at the main mass where the eyes were, occasionally dodging the sections of metal the enemy threw at them. Eventually a few were able to get closer and see something.

"Damn it! It's hanging onto the train!" Cosmo said.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Aiko.

"There's got to be a way…"

Everyone kept up the fight. Then a mouth erupted from the center of the mass. "Aim for that!" Leon yelled. Logan did so, causing it to retreat. The enemy seemed like it was about done. The male human then noticed that the coupler that had been covered up before. "Aim there!" Nicholas did so, separating the car William was on with the main train. Quickly the guy disappeared. The vehicle then came out of the tunnel it had been traveling into a place that showed mountains behind it. Even at this distance the non humans could sense the explosion that happened. Everything inside had been destroyed. The whole group slowly walked down the remaining track that was left.

"We're gonna be ok now, aren't we?" Claire said to Sherry who nodded.

"Sherry…" Leon stated and the little girl turned to look at him as everyone stopped walking. "I have something to tell you… about your mother." The news was told causing the youngest female to hold Claire and cry. "The vaccine that saved you… It was from your mother. She loved you very much. Always has. Right up till the end."

"No, that's a lie," Sherry sobbed. "Mommy never…" She couldn't finish the sentience.

After that, Nicholas and his group managed to get back with Claire to their mansion. She rested for a few days before setting alone to find her brother. The male werewolf promised to find out anything that he could and for her to do the same. They kept in contact along with Leon. He and Sherry were rescued by US government agents who were in the area. They were looking for men like Leon to help the threat that was beginning to spread around the world; not just in Japan. And just like that, Leon found himself in the service of the US government. Still all of this would lead to something even bigger than first thought. And it would happen after this mission.


	12. Chapter 12

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 12: Another Piece and Cursed Areas

Although Claire had left the place, Nicholas and the others kept their eyes and ears open for any news on her brother or the female human. This was second as all the males and females seemed to be closer to one another. It was best seen with Liru and Nicholas. The female werewolf always stuck around the male, like she was afraid to loose him. It gave him hope that Liru felt the same way he did. And yet Nicholas still couldn't find it in himself to say it to her. The guy hoped there would be. At least Nicholas could see the rest of the males and females getting closer as well. He knew they at least were perfect for each other. A few nights after Claire had left Nicholas and Liru were out and about. Both of them were talking about everything that had been happening as of late. "It sure got hectic as of late," the male stated. "Still you've been doing great despite it." The female blushed but smiled.

"Well I learned from you," she responded. Liru reached out and touched Nicholas's arm. This caused the two to stop and look into the other's eyes. "And you're the best to help me learn…"

"Liru…" he whispered but then caught off as he noticed a familiar fog rolling in fast towards them. "Damn it!" She saw it and before both could do anything else, it had swallowed both werewolves up. It seemed to last forever but both eventually stirred. Upon getting off the ground they could see they were in the same dimension again. "Looks like it's our turn."

"Nicholas…" Liru whispered.

"It's fine. You've got me though I wished I had my weapons. Come on; let's see if we can find the way out."

The two began to walk down the foggy street. There were monsters, ones that had no arms or faces that moved weirdly. Their only mean of attack was by spitting out some kind of liquid. The male quickly disposed each one that crossed his and the female's path. Eventually they made it to a butchery and went inside. The place was dark and empty. There was some meat on a table though, nothing that looked edible. There was a door and they went through. But they had barely taken any steps when the two werewolves spotted something.

They saw another of the demonic, hideous creatures, twitching in an unnatural way. Suddenly a tall humanoid figure with a bloodstained apron with dead grey skin all bloody came up to the first being with a huge meat cleaver. The face was covered, but Nicholas and Liru shrank back, watching on with horror. The second creature lifted the first with one hand, and then with its weapon, nearly cut the smaller being in half, but from the chest down. The blood and gore spilled everywhere. The taller one walked away slowly, dragging its meat cleaver on the ground. The male and female slowly walked over. "Oh my god… this is awful…" Nicholas whispered.

"Nicholas… I'm getting scared…" Liru stated in a voice to match.

"There's no other choice. We need to go down the same path."

They did so and didn't find the enemy. But there was a door the werewolves did go through. The two emerged at some kind of drop off point. The road only went one way and lead to a sanitarium. Like before the place was dark and run down. The first thing picked up was the map to the place. "Damn this place is big," the male commented. "At least this will help us."

He and Liru went through a few of the rooms and found some kind of doll in a wheelchair. There was a trigger pistol and filing cabinet there, which he picked up. However it wasn't until they managed to get upstairs that an enemy was found and quickly disposed of. The next room had a couple which the male and female avoided by heading through a door. Inside there were two iron lung machines. Nicholas recognized them having study much about human history and was able to explain what they had been used for to the female. There was a control panel on one of them, which the guy took a look at. A bit of fiddling around with the machine caused something to be spat out of it. The female picked it up which was a set of keys. "Wonder what these are for?" she asked.

"Keep ahold of them. They'll come in handy," Nicholas said.

They then left the room. From there it was back downstairs and to the bottom level. There the keys were used to get into the next room. While this path just led the werewolves down a hallway to a second set of stairs, it went to a place that had tubs in it. One of them had a key but there was no way to get at it without burning themselves. The male managed to drain the water, causing the key to go with it. They were able to get them along with another key that was for the patient belongings. Eventually by going back and forth between rooms including using mirrors to turn the place into the even darker version of itself, Nicholas and Liru found five creepy looking dolls. The guy was able to figure out the puzzle that went with them which gave the two another key. Once this was obtained, it was back to a mirror to return things back to the less dark version from before. Eventually they found an artifact, which was used on a door to let them into the final room.

The room they entered was just as twisted, but even darker. Nicholas's eyes darted to the left and right while Liru shrank behind the male in fear. Luckily for them crude weapons had been picked up such as a long iron crowbar. The guy's grip on his weapon tightened. Then in the center the two saw some kind of bell. But instead of metal, there was only a thin membrane. "Wait, what's that?" the female asked.

The bell like structure began to move; suddenly something in the middle could be seen, twitching in an unnatural way. The thing suddenly manifested into a woman, bond by bandages, the mouth open in a permenate scream like position, and spikes that were rusted and bloody. Where the eyes should have been, there were none. "Guess this is our farewell!" Nicholas snarled and fully transformed. The female faltered for a second before doing the same thing.

The guy rushed forward, using his speed, strength, and reflects to deal great amounts of damage to the monster. Every time he struck, the creature would let out screams like that of a woman in pain. Even the liquid it spat out couldn't catch the male. The female on the other hand tried to go in when she could. Sometimes Liru would score a hit, but mainly Nicholas took care of it. With both working together, the creature was beaten and vanished. In its place was a circle and another piece like from before. The female picked it up. "Another one," she whispered.

"Looks like it's the past piece," stated the male. "I know thanks to the research I did on the Flaruous."

The werewolves then turned and saw the figure of Aya behind them. "What's happening here?" Nicholas asked. "Was that thing…? Are you making this happen?"

The little female didn't answer this time but instead he and Liru felt vibrations in the air and their eyes rolled in the back of their skulls before passing out. They awoke to find themselves back where they had encountered the fog. "You okay Liru?" Nicholas asked. The female just hugged the male, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Come on. Let's get back." They did so, telling the others what had happened, and placing the piece with the other one that had been found. Even so this was nothing to what would happen next.

Leon who had been in contact with the group recently heard about another of the division that Claire's missing brother had been a part of. They could use the help from the others. It didn't take much to get out to the area in the United States. In a forest near a town that was similar to the one the group had gone to before. Right now they were traveling by helicopter during the night. Bravo Team of F.I.L.E.S. was with them. Although they knew Chris, Claire's brother, he wasn't with them. They were helping the team investigate bizarre murderers that had occurred in the area. But just when they were getting closer, the vehicle began to malfunction. Nobody knew that it was intentional. They had to make an emergency landing. It was a bit rough, but everyone came out of it okay. "Check the current position and investigate the surrounding area," order the captain of the team.

Nicholas and the others took a look around with another female human named Rebecca. She then spotted something. "Captain! Look!"

The guy shinned a light to show a van turned upside-down. The letters MP could be seen. The bodies of the drivers and soldiers could be seen next to the vehicle. Napoleon went over to the corpses and could see that they had strange bloody marks on them. Some were like slashes, but not caused by a weapon. He then got up, but then noticed some strange clear like fluid. But his train of thought was interrupted as Rebecca called everyone over. She had a file with her. It showed a picture of a young man in his 20s with a grim look. It was a court order of transportation of the guy who was a prisoner. Name Billy Doan, an ex-lieutenant and sentenced to death. "Those poor soldiers," said one of the other men after looking over the file. "They were good men just doing their jobs. And that scum murdered them and escaped!"

"Alright, let's split up and survey the area," the captain ordered. "Our friend is brutal and ruthless. Keep your guard up."

Rebecca and Nicholas's group were together. While the female human needed a flashlight, the rest were fine. "I'm not so sure it was Billy who killed those men," stated Napoleon.

"What makes you say that?" Pachira asked.

"Something about the wounds they had didn't seem like a human did it. Also I noticed some kind of fluid on the truck. Something that shouldn't have been there."

Suddenly a rustling sound caused the females in the group to jump and look swiftly to where it had come from. There was nothing but everyone noticed something else. "A train," Cosmo commented. The group slowly went forward to the vehicle. As they did it began to rain. It was then through a door and they were inside. The place had enough light for Rebecca so she could see just fine without her flashlight. Everyone could see things like papers of no importance to suitcases strewn about the floor. The only way was forward to the next car. In there a radio could be heard.

"This is Officer Rambers from F.I.L.E.S. Bravo team," Rebecca called out. "Please identify yourself. Is someone there?"

The rest of the group made their weapons a little looser just in case. The female human walked up to where the noise was coming from and what she saw made her gasp. It was a dead human, in the same manner as the ones from the van had been. The radio making the news was on the floor next to his feet. Rebecca picked it up and turned the thing off, unaware that the dead human silently rose to its feet. The thing then let out a moan, just like the enemies that had been encountered by Nicholas's group from before. These guys saw it.

"Shit!" the male werewolf cursed and ran forward, katana out, and sliced the zombie's head off. Liru and the rest looked and could see two more enemies coming in. These were quickly taken care of.

"What just happened?" the female human asked. "I thought they were dead."

"Not if they're what I think they are," Nicholas stated and bent down to take a sample. The testing of it only took a few seconds thanks to some tools the guy had. "Damn it."

"What is it?" Liru asked.

"It's just like what we encountered before. Only this time caused by something else." The rest had to fill in Rebecca. "Grab any papers or files. They could be useful in figuring out what happened and what to do about it."

The group then went forward to the next car. One of the rooms had a passenger's diary that made mention of the D-Virus and how it could be used to produce weapons, but that was only if it could be controlled. This was taken. Another room had some investigation orders. These weren't that readable and torn. What could be read didn't make much sense but were still taken. The next thing to be found was a corpse that had a train key. But while Rebecca was picking it up the sound of a gun being cocked was heard. Everyone turned to see Billy standing behind them with the weapon pointed at them. "Billy…" stated the human female. "Lieutenant Doan."

"So, you seem to know me," he replied. "Been… fantasizing about me have you?"

"You're the prisoner who was being transported for execution. You were with those soldiers outside."

"Ah, I see. You're with F.I.L.E.S.; well no offense honey, but your kind doesn't seem to want me around. So, I'm afraid our little chat time is over." Billy put his gun down and walked away.

"Wait!" Rebecca stated and went after the guy. "You're under arrest!"

"No thanks, doll-face," the male replied and held up his left wrist were cuff still were. "I've already worn handcuffs." Billy then went down the hall.

"I could shoot you know!" the female human shot back.

"Leave it," Nicholas said. "We've got bigger problems."

Suddenly the sound of someone breaking into a window was heard and everyone saw a body land on the floor. They rushed over to it. "Edward!" Rebecca stated. "Are you alright?!"

"What happened?!" Logan asked.

"It's… worst than… We can't… You must be careful… All of you…" The guy had blood on his body from a few wounds. "The forest… it's full of zombies and monsters…"

Suddenly another thing came in but it was a zombie dog. Nicholas had it dealt with in a flash. Some more then came in and they had to leave Edward behind to take these things out. Then it was back the previous way only now they could get through the back way since the group had the key. The next room was dark, but even the female human could see. It was here that her radio went off and Rebecca answered. "This is Rebecca; over," she responded.

The sound came in and out but they could understand what was being said. "Rebecca? Can you hear me? This is Enrico. What's your group's location? Over."

"Enrico! Hello! Can you hear me?" Only the female human had a hard time. She had to adjust some of the knobs on the radio. "Please respond."

"Rebecca I can hear you. Now listen up. We've obtained detailed information on the fugitive from a document from the wrecked wagon. Billy killed as many as… 23 people. Over." The news shocked everyone.

"23 people?" Liru repeated.

"We have also confirmed that he was institutionalized. So keep your guard up. Stay alert, he wouldn't think twice before killing any of you."

"I'm sure there's a good reason for that," Nicholas stated into the radio. "He doesn't seem like a serial killer. I could tell." There was no response on the other end of the radio. "Shit! Looks like it's gone dead."

The group continued onto the next area and found Billy there. "It's gonna be dangerous from here on in," he said. "Why don't we cooperate?"

"Cooperate with you?" Rebecca asked in disbelief.

"Listen little girl, if you haven't noticed there are some pretty freaked out things on this train and I for one want to get out of here. I don't think we stand a chance doing it like this."

"You expect me to trust you? A wanted felon?" the female human asked. Nicholas looked to his friend and the other females with a look to let the humans sort this out. "I don't need your help. I can handle this on my own. And don't call me little girl."

Billy chuckled. "Alright Miss Do-It-Yourself. What should I call you then?"

"The name is Rebecca Rambers. But that's Officer Rambers o you."

"Well then, Rebecca," the male human answered. "Why don't you go and try while I wait here?"

The female human went up the stairs next to them in a huffy silence, but Nicholas spotted something on the table right at the foot. The male werewolf went over to pick it up. It was a notice to some supervisors. What got his attention is that it was from the Rindella Corporation Maintenance Department. " _Are they connected with this?_ " he wondered inside his head.

Meanwhile Rebecca had made it up the flight of stairs. She was now in a dinning area and like everything that had been seen so far, the place was a wreck. Going forward found the room got darker and that there was a dead body in a sitting up position. The female slowly approached but then stopped when she saw the head roll and fall off. The headless body split in two with one half falling to the floor. From it leech like creatures came pouring out. They merged together until they had formed the dead body with sickly colored skin and bright white spheres for eyes. The human fired at the enemy a few times before retreating. The head then split open to show more leech like creatures. They came swarming around Rebecca. Before they could consume her Billy shot them off. He and the others had come. Two of the leech like creatures stirred and then launched themselves at the male human who shot them down.

The things retreated and Billy went right up to Rebecca. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded with a thumbs up sign. Suddenly the sound of someone singing in some kind of dialect could be heard outside. Everyone looked up through the window. In the rain that was still pouring they could see the leeches surrounding the feet of a humanoid figure. Suddenly lighting lit up his features for a brief few seconds. But then he was suddenly gone. "Who is that guy" Billy asked.

Suddenly everyone felt the train lurch as it began to move again. "What's going on?" Uma asked. "Who's controlling the train?"

"Some of you go and check out the first engine car," Billy stated.

"Time to split up," said Nicholas. "Cosmo, Aiko, Me, Liru, and Rebecca will take care of it. The rest of you stay with Billy. And let me make something clear Billy; you try anything funny I will shot you even though I'm having my doubts about what you did."

"Fine," the male human replied. "Give us a call if you find anything." The male werewolf's party then left the area.

With that, Billy's group found a ladder that lead outside. All of them took it up to the roof where it was still raining outside. Luckily the male human was able to keep up with the others who thanks to the one ruin were able to keep their balance. They slowly made their way forward until all of them reached a section. There they could see some disconnected cables. Napoleon got them back together which restored power in certain areas. But as soon as the vampire had, strange clear like fluid leaked out of the area. It then leapt at them, sending all to a hole right behind them. It then retreated. "What was that?" Pachira asked as they all got up.

"I saw something like it on the van from before," the male vampire explained. The group then took a look around and they could see they were in some kind of kitchen area. There was even a service lift to send stuff back and forth to another section of the train. It was here that another train key was obtained. But the door leading out was locked.

"We'll need soothing sharp," Logan observed. He placed the key into the service lift along with a note stating they needed it. The lift was then sent on its way. Back in the dinning car, the others had gone back downstairs. They went to the area where orders were received to find the key that had been sent and the note.

"I'll go back and use this with Liru," Nicholas said as he picked up the key. Both werewolves went back to the conductor's office and used it there on the door. It was here that a train map was found which the female grabbed. The male found a switch in here that brought a ladder down. They both took it up. The path took them up to another area to buy food and drink items. But they hadn't gone far when the werewolves heard a screeching sound; made by some kind of creature.

"What was that?" the female asked, grabbing onto the male.

"Not sure, but it's on the roof," he answered. "I can hear it." She could as well with the footsteps. Going forward the two could see that this was more like a first class car. It was then through another door where an ice pick was found the guy pocketed it to send it back to those stuck. After grabbing everything needed, they headed back, unaware of what was coming. Upon entering the room where they had heard the noise, one of the chandeliers came off the celling, smashing onto the floor.

"What the-?!" Nicholas asked and Liru got behind him. Suddenly they saw two massive pinchers penetrate the ceiling. With one more thrust the owner of them broke through; a humongous scorpion. It reared back with a roar as both werewolves transformed. 'Quick! Get back!" the male ordered, drawing his katana.

The creature came in for a blow, but the guy was faster and stabbed at the head with his sword. The creature reared in pain and backed off. But then came in for a sting with the tail. The male was able to dodge it and sliced at it, cutting it off and causing the monster even more pain. Liru just stood back as the male hacked and slashed at every opportunity. The thing never stood a chance and it wasn't long before it was down for the count. As soon as the monster died, they could see it's green blood spilling out. Nicholas quickly got a sample for analyzing latter. "Do you think it was the virus we found before that caused it?" Liru asked.

"We'll find out latter," the male answered. "Right now, we need to get back to the others."

They soon made it back and sent the ice pick over to the others who were locked in that room. These guy were able to get out and meet up with them. "So what took so long?" Napoleon asked. They were quickly told and Cosmo was given the sample.

"Now then, I think it's time to investigate this crawl space here," Nicholas said, pointing to an opening that had been made after removing the panel while waiting for Billy and his team. They had to go in one at a time. But the first out had to deal with infected dogs. These were soon taken care of. The male human and Rebecca went out the door to the very end of the train. It was still raining and here they found a harpoon gun, which they brought back.

"That should come in handy," Aiko commented.

"I saw a place that it could be used further ahead," said Rebecca. Everyone made their way to that place and the female human used the gun to access a higher area, which was another section on the roof. There was a hole that the female dropped down into. After dealing with the zombie in the room below she found a blue keycard. The human made it back to the others just fine.

"Now what?" Logan asked.

"I think this is used at the front of the train," Cosmo replied, looking at the card. The group made their way to the door and got access. The were unaware that someone else was on board and in contact with others. The guy was on the outside area.

"This is Delta Team, this is Delta Team, we have gained control of the train, over," said the male.

This was picked up three miles away at a mansion in a room that had a few monitors and a mike. Two more men were here, one in a lab coat, and the other with dark glasses. "Understood," the second male stated.

"This doesn't make any sense," commented the first. "How was the D virus leaked like in Japan? And why the lab in the mansion as well as the train almost three miles away?"

"That's irrelevant," the second responded. "We must make sure no knowledge of this gets out just like in that area of Japan. Destroy the train like you did with that town back in that country. Completely." He then turned back to the mike. "How far away are you from the nearest branch line?"

The guy on the train didn't notice that some of the leeches from before were closing in on him. "About ten minutes to-" The guy cut off as he saw the monsters swarming up his legs and let out yells.

"What happened?!" the second guy in the room asked as he and the other could hear the screams. The guy on the train had a partner who came out and met the same fate of being killed. When it was finished, the leeches left the bodies, heading out.

Just at that exact moment Nicholas, Liru, and the others were making their way to the engine. They went in and could see that nobody was controlling the train. Billy went up to the monitor. "The train will either derail or crash!" he stated. "I've gotta stop this thing!"

"Some of you go with him," the male werewolf commented. "The rest will stay with me and Liru to apply the brake here when he gives the word." Billy grabbed a card that would help and Cosmo, Aiko, Logan, and Uma followed him. They made their way as fast as they could, defeating any zombies that stood in the way. Upon reaching the end of the train, the male human swiped the card and had to enter some numbers in the keypad. That allowed those at the front to apply the brakes.

"Hold on!" Liru said as everyone felt the contraptions kick in. The vehicle went on a side line before busting through a wooden barrier. Now the train was in a tunnel. It then hit the buffers at the end, and went flying up and off the rails. Those in the back had been thrown off and didn't stir for awhile. Eventually they did and slowly got up.

"Owww…" Uma commented.

"You okay?" Logan asked, holding out a hand. She nodded while blushing as he stood her up.

Billy then looked around. "Rebecca?" he asked.

"I'm… here," she responded as the female human along with the rest of her group came out, bruised but alright.

"You guys alright?" Nicholas asked. He then smirked. "Hey, at least we managed to stop the train." The next part was finding a way out. But there were zombies who had survived the crash and had to be taken care of first. Then it was through a door and into some sewer like area. It was well lit so there was no problem and a short path. Eventually the group got to a ladder and one by one went up it.

Billy pushed at the panel at the top showing it was part of the floor. The rest followed and they could see they were in some kind of mansion. It was a bit creepy looking. Billy then looked down on the floor and saw a symbol that looked like eight triangles pointed towards a center circle. Half were white while the others were orange. "The Rindella Research Center?" the male human asked.

"Are you serious?" Nicholas asked. The rest who had been in that laboratory all exchanged looks.

Rebecca walked up some stairs to get a better look at a picture. It showed an elderly man. "The first general manager, Dr. Leon Marcus," Billy read off of the plaque below the picture.

"Doesn't matter," Nicholas said. "This is bad news."

None of them were aware the same two men from before were watching them. "Who on earth are those people?" the first guy asked.

"The female right there is just a rookie and a member of F.I.L.E.S." the second answered.

"What about the others?"

"The one with long hair and the rest of the females along with the males standing next to the first look familiar. I believe they are working with F.I.L.E.S.; the final one I'm unfamiliar-" suddenly a broadcast came out that sounded out everywhere in the building.

"Attention. This is Doctor Marcus. Please be silent as we reflect upon our company motto. Obedience breeds discipline. Discipline breeds unity. Unity breeds power. Power is life." Suddenly all the screen switched to show the same figure that had been standing outside in the rain by the train. It was a young male with longish hair and a strange white robe.

"Who are you?" the second male in the control room demanded.

"It was I who scattered the D virus in the mansion. Needless to say I contaminated the train to."

"What?!" the first guy in the room asked.

"Revenge," the young man stated. "On Rindella." He began to sing as the leeches gathered, morphing into the same person who's picture had been seen by Nicholas's group.

"Doctor Marcus?!" the first male in the control room asked in shock.

The young male on the monitors let out a chuckle. "Ten years ago Doctor Marcus was murdered by Rindella. You helped them… didn't you?" He let out an evil laugh.

Meanwhile back in the entrance area of the mansion, the group decided to head through one of the doors on the first floor. Right away they had to shoot at a few zombies. After beating them it was through a couple more doors into a more darker area. More enemies were beaten. Liru then noticed a statue that had some parts broken off. The female grabbed it thinking it might come in handy. Billy also found a gas container to take as well. When these had been grabbed it was up a ladder found in the same area. This lead them outside onto an upper level where zombies had to be shot at. After they were killed another door was found to be entered. It was in here that Nicholas found a diary that was titled Regulations of Trainees. It went on about how this training facility was designed to create the best candidates to be future global leaders of Rindella Corporation. It then had a few rules. It then showed that Marcus had written it. The male took this with him.

After leaving the room, the group found themselves at a statue that had a scale on it with two dishes to hold things. Liru placed the statue in the dish on their left. Something about this seemed right to her. There was no other choice but to go back. It was a good thing since the path eventually lead to a room that had a map of the facility along with a item called a Microfilm A. Nicholas took these with him. But then it was back the same way they had came. "We're going nowhere," Billy complained.

"Just learn to trust us," the male werewolf said. "Something in my gut is telling me to do it this way. And it's worked many times before."

It was then back into the same place as the statue. The group was back where they had started. Only now it was through a different door on the second floor they were at. Here a notice to the staff was found that had a code on it along with some kin of handle. The second these things were picked up infected crows broke through the windows. These were taken care of quickly. The group then went back through some of the rooms that had been gone through before to get to a new one. This had a crank and platform. "I'll check it out," Billy stated. Nicholas, Liru, Napoleon, and Pachira decided to go with him after using the handle that was found to fix the machine

The others worked the crank, getting this group up to the next level. The second they got there huge insects descended down which were killed quickly. Then it was out a door to an outside area to another one. The room was big but had nothing of interest. However looking around found another door that was unlocked, allowing the others to join the rest at the same area. Once that was done a few decided to check out the door right next to them. Inside this place a white statue was found and taken. Then it was back and upstairs. A machine was found that operated a chain that was attached to some kind of cage. Lifting it up showed there was something underneath it. Rebecca and Liru went to check it out and it was a key. As soon as the female human did, they both heard the sound of some massive insect. Suddenly the grate next to them was thrown aside as a huge centipede came out from where the grate had been. Before both females could do anything it had grabbed them.

Liru let out a cry. "Nicholas!" she screamed.

"Liru!" he yelled back and ran forward with his katana drawn. But the blade didn't even scratch the monster as it began to crawl on the ground. "No other choice…" The guy threw his head back and fully transformed. Rebecca was able to see this and Billy definitely could. The werewolf rushed forward, stopping the monster in its tracks. It reared up to strike Nicholas down, but he was faster. With a shout the guy had hacked at the soft underside, slicing off many of the enemy's limbs, freeing Liru and Rebecca. The male then jumped up and stabbed the thing in the head. That ended the fight and Nicholas went over to Liru, turning back to normal.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her up.

"Yeah, thank you," she answered back while blushing and smiling.

"You want to tell me what the hell you are?" Billy asked to Nicholas as he helped Rebecca up.

"Well… alright then." He and the others then went on to explain what they were and what had happened back in Japan along with meeting Leon and Claire.

"Are you serious?" Rebecca asked when it was over.

"Hard to believe I know," the male werewolf stated. "But it's true. Rindella has done these things and must be stopped. That's why we joined up with F.I.L.E.S. to do so. And of us really being not human. But even with that we're on the same side."

Billy and Rebecca couldn't argue with this. The group then went back since they now had a new key to use. In one of the rooms that this item was used at got them into a room that had a small table that needed to be moved. Doing so allowed access to an iron needle. But it looked important so it was taken. There was also an Assistant Director's Diary. It talked a bit about the failure some of the trainees taken in were. But the name William and Albert came and how they might have a future. And how Marcus was the director of the training facility and also it was him to spark a rivalry between these two guys. After that it was back to the second door that required the newly found key. But not before putting the white statue found on the scale that the statue was holding in the main entrance. In the second room all that could be found was lighter fluid and an empty bottle, which were still taken just in case. Billy then showed how to make fire weapons out of these things.

Then everyone went back to one of the rooms that had been visited. There was a clock here that had a hand missing and the needle was the minute hand. The time that had been stated as the security code was entered which caused a couple doors to be unlocked. The group went to check these places out. The first room had the following things; a verse of poetry and a Microfilm B. In the second room the group found a proctor to use. Here the films were inserted bringing up some kind of seating chart. It was all then put on a disk and an image of the chart to be used for latter. Heading back to another room from before, the disk was used to help with a puzzle that unlocked more doors. One of these lead to a room that had a notice about chemicals and how they could be used to make new substances. This was taken for help. There was a also a mixing set here which was used to produce one of these new substances. The second new room had a chest board in the middle of the floor. By putting the big pieces in checkmate, it opened a secret compartment that had a book called The Book of Evil. But there was also a diary as well that was from Marcus. It went on to talk about a new virus that had been found called Drogenitor. It then went on to say that a man by the name of Lencer was going to start a company. A few entries latter talked about how Marcus had built a new virus by mixing it with leech DNA and how it had been called the D Virus for Destruction Virus. Then it went on to explain how Lencer was beginning to target Marcus who was making plains to try the new virus out on humans.

The Book of Evil was then opened revealing a missing piece from the black statue in the main entrance way. Then it was back to some new rooms. At the end of these a Book of Good was found. Inside this was the missing piece for the white statue. The group then went back to the main entrance to put these new things on the things that they went to. Upon doing so the picture of Marcus moved, revealing a new path. "Now we're getting somewhere," Cosmo said.

"That's the ticket," Logan commented. Everyone made their way to it and could see some stairs that went down. They found themselves in a hallway and the wizard and Uma instantly had to use their magic to take care of a huge spider; much like what had been seen before back in Japan. Then it was to the farthest door at the end of the hall. The first thing found was a list called Correctional Institute Inmates List. It had a list of names and where they had gone. Some were dead, used as specimens, or transported. This was taken. The next room looked to be like that of a castle. The only thing in here was an open vent.

"I'll go check it out," said Rebecca.

"Fine," Nicholas replied. "But someone else should go just in case."

"I will," Pachira volunteered. The two females were given a boost and went through the hole. Both made it and then looked around the new room. What they saw made them gasp. They could see all kinds of medieval torture devices. The vampire then found a piece of paper talking about the power regulator in this room and how to make it work. They went over to the machine and got the electricity working. This caused some doors to be opened including the one here. Neither were aware of the camera in this room and that they were being watched by the young man.

"You are wasting your time," he said. "I have already claimed this place for myself. Which means you are trespassing. And I am very territorial." The male let out a laugh as a cage opened up, releasing something being held there. It turned out to be an infected monkey which made it to the room Pachira and Rebecca were at. The vampire heard it coming and was able to push the other female out of the way right when the enemy came in. It tried to attack again but missed. Before the human and Pachira could attack, the floor they were standing on gave way, creating a hole. The two let out shouts as they fell.

Meanwhile the two men from before, the scientist and one with shades were walking down a hallway in the lower levels. "It just doesn't make sense," stated the first one. "Do you really believe this to be the identity of the crazy young man? Impossible! But, if somehow it is true then Rindella will be finished."

"If the old conspiracy against Dr. Marcus is revealed, Mr. Lencer's career will be over," the second male stated. "Not to mention ours as well. Soon the time will come."

"What are you going to do?"

"I will simply say goodbye to Rindella. The biological weapon utilizing the D virus has almost been completed. Our only remaining task is to acquire combat data."

"You can't be serious!" the first male exclaimed. "I refuse to abandon my work! I have finished the research on the D Virus made by Rirkin, but I need a little more time to complete to the more powerful H Virus!"

"Do as you wish," the second replied as they both reached an elevator and he got on. "I will follow my initial plan and lure the F.I.L.E.S. members when the time comes into the mansion. Their superior combat training should make them perfect test subjects."

"Fine," the first said. "In the meantime something must be done about that mad man. As I recall, there is a self destruct device in the basement. I'll find it, set it off, and annihilate the training facility to nothing more then a mass of rubble."

Meanwhile Rebecca and Pachira had managed to catch themselves from the fall and were holding onto dear life. They quickly sent the call by the radio the female human had. The others rushed to their location with Napoleon leading them. Even the few enemies that stood in their way couldn't stand against the male vampire. They made it to the females and had them quickly out of the hole. The female vampire hugged Napoleon hard. "Thank god," he whispered and placed his lips on Pachira's right cheek quickly. She felt this and blushed hard.

"Thank you," Rebecca said to Billy.

"Don't mention it, just keeping my word. We promised to cooperate with each other; remember?"

Suddenly the female human got a contact on her radio. "This is Rebecca, over," she responded.

"Rebecca this is Enrico. Have you managed to locate Billy yet? Over?" The human didn't answer yet. "Rebecca, answer me!"

"No, sir… I have not found him yet. I'll continue to search for him; over!" She hung up.

"Rebecca…" Billy said as he and the rest knew she had just lied through her teeth.

"My first mission I ended up already disobeying orders. So much for my great law enforcement career. Oh well. I probably won't live long enough to worry about it. Billy… I just need to know… I need to know the truth. Did you kill 23 people? I'm not going to judge you. I just want to know the truth."

The guy let out a breath and spoke. "It was around this time last year. Our unit was ordered to Africa to intervene in a civil war. Our mission was to raid a hideout belonging to some guerilla forces hidden deep inside the jungle. But the hideout was far away from our entry point. Some died from the heat, others were killed by the enemy. In the end, only four of us survived. But when we got there, there was no hideout."

"What do you mean?" Nicholas asked as the rest were listening to this.

"The idiots in charge had as operating on wrong information! But we couldn't just go back home empty handed; oh no! Our leader ordered us to attack an innocent village!"

"So… did you execute all those innocent people?" Rebecca asked softly.

"Forget about it," Billy answered quickly. "Doesn't matter anymore. That was then, this is now. Besides, you said you wouldn't judge me."

"I'm not judging you! But it does matter. Look! Now my people think you killed those MPVs in the van, but I don't think you did. It was the zombie dogs, right? When they attacked the van, you were able to escape. Isn't that right?"

"You don't get it. I've only got two choices left. Either report to the marines and serve out my sentience, or keep on running for as long as I can. That's all."

"No matter, let's keep moving," Nicholas stated.

The whole group left the room to continue. Except now the path took them downstairs. They found a key, which was taken right away. Then they made it to some kind of control panel that looked down on a section. There was also a cabinet that the key was used on to get at a case. It had a combination on it but Cosmo was able to get it unlocked easily. Inside were upgrades that Rebecca could use for her gun. The female human took these right away. Then Billy and a few of the other males went to the section were the control panel was looking over. Those at the top pressed each of the buttons to open up gates in the area. Finally those down below managed to make it to another one. As soon as it was pressed, a voice came on. "Battle sequence initiated. Locking door."

"Shit! It's a trap!" Cosmo cursed. He and the others in the area had to fend off a couple of reptilian enemies. But it was worth it since another Facility Key was obtained. When the creatures were beaten the way became unlocked again. Then it was back upstairs to the main entrance to use the new key on a blue colored door. The first new room had an enemy that had to be beaten and a vise handle. The latter was taken and the monster killed. The next stop was the place were the handle was used. The anvil came apart, releasing a tablet that it had been holding. The third room looked into seemed to be a pallor like area with a bar and piano. "Now what?" Pachira asked.

"I wonder…" Napoleon said. He sat down and played on the instrument. There was a section of music already there. Doing so caused a secret wall to open up.

"How did you do that?" the female vampire asked, looking at the male one with love in her eyes. "That's incredible!"

"I learned when I was little," the guy answered. "I wanted to so it was no problem. When we make it back I'll show you what I can really do."

A few then took a look inside this place that had opened up. The only thing worthy was a battery. This was taken to the outside entrance to a lift. Placing the item in made the power come on. The button on the machine was used which brought down a box. After moving it to a pillar Liru was able to climb up to reach the item on top that was another tablet like from before. Once obtained, it was back into the mansion and down to the lower levels. Eventually a series of animal statues in a circle was reached. Billy used his lighter to light the torches in a specific order to open a hidden door. In one room beyond this point a third tablet was found. Then in another a Management Trainee's Diary was obtained. This explained someone who had seen Marcus and wondered about the guy's obsessions with leeches and what they really were. It seemed according to it that they were dangerous and that strange sounds had been heard behind a door from where Marcus had been working.

Then it was back to familiar area. Only this time it was through a different door that lead them to an observatory. Going down to the control area, all the tablets were inserted. Doing so caused the entire thing to lower down so a path could be formed. The sound of a door unlocking was heard which meant that would be the next place to head. Ahead of them was some kind of church that looked as old as the mansion. On the side there was a small structure, which had a button. Pushing it caused the doors to be unlocked. The inside was still intact, but some of the benches weren't. They hadn't gone far in when a screech was hear along with the flapping of wings. Looking up they saw a huge mutated bat enemy that screeched at them. "Shit!" Napoleon stated as Nicholas and Liru transformed.

"Another one," the male werewolf said. "Used ranged attacks on this thing!"

The male vampire nodded and leapt for the nearest wall. The guy began to defy gravity and ran on the vertical thing. Pachira looked at him in shock but Uma moved the female out of the way, snapping her back to reality. Napoleon ran forward and managed to leap, landing on the creature's back. It tried to shake the guy off but couldn't. The vampire bit hard into the thing's neck while everyone fired. The monster let out a roar of pain as blood sprayed everywhere. Napoleon jumped off the creature as it crashed to the ground just in time to meet Nicholas's katana in the head. That did it and the enemy was beaten. The male vampire landed and spat some of the blood to the side. "That's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth," he grumbled.

"Quick thinking my friend," Cosmo said. A sample was taken from the fallen monster to be looked at latter.

"Hey there seems to be a place above we can reach," Aiko pointed out. There was a ledge. Rebecca used the harpoon gun to get on the roof of the church. The female human then found a ladder to climb down. Next to her was a switch, which restored power. Then a door was found which was contacted about to the rest of the group. They quickly joined her. It lead to an elevator, which took them down below. A couple of rooms latter found a torn page. It was from Marcus's diary. It only stated how he had hidden his babies in a special place, like a leaf in a forest. A stripping agent would be needed to get at them. There was enough information to figure out what the guy meant. Then another hole was found for Rebecca to use the harpoon gun on. In the above level she found a Laboratory Manger's Diary. It went on to explain how the platform entry code had been changed. It was based around his children's growth and how that didn't make sense since the guy didn't have any. The female human knew Marcus was referring to the leeches.

There was also a capsule of some kind that was a leech one that was taken including a map of the area. The next room found was some kind of laboratory room. There was also a bunch of paper that were about the growth of the leeches. The first page talked about inserting the D virus into them. Of how it caused a will to survive turned them to parasitism and predation before breeding and multiplying. Then how they grew and began to evolve even further. But the last disturbing part was the thought could human be used as a food source and how they were viewed as wonderful children. No doubt Marcus before had typed this. It was taken. There was also a place to create the stripping agent for the capsule. Doing so caused a blue leech crystal to come out of it. The female human then found a hatch to send items back and forth.

The crystal was placed in it and sent to the others. Rebecca then found an Investigator's Report. It went on to say how Dr. Marcus, the co-founder of Rindella, along with the president of the company named Lencer, had disappeared 20 years ago. The results of the research he had down had been kept under wraps the whole time. The reason became obvious with the hideous experimentation that used company employees as guinea pigs. All for the research on the D-Virus prototype called "Drogenitor." 20 had been used and that the experiments had continued on. The rest of the pages were missing but all were still taken. In the meanwhile Billy and the rest found the crystal on their end and took it to a door where it was inserted to proceed. In this room they found an Input Reg. Coil. There was also a picture as well. It was of three men at graduation. On the back it was written that it was to Marcus to commemorate his graduation. "Judging from the age, that guy could be Marcus's son, or grandson," Billy stated. The photo was taken.

In the next area a green leech crystal was found and obtained. This was sent back to Rebecca. She revived it and with it was able to unlock another door. In this new area a sterilizing agent was acquired. This was taken back to a previous room to get inside a glass containment that had a key. It opened the door to the breeding room. Here some mutated enemies had to be killed. After they were a dial was obtained along with a B.O.W. report. This went on to explain what happened to living organisms when combined with the Drogenitor virus. While there was limited success for insects and frogs, the ones with monkeys seemed to yield greater results. But no further advancements could be made without using humans as the base product. This report was taken. Rebecca then sent to the dial back to the others. They got it and used it to unlock another door. Cosmo had the task of entering the combination to do so.

They found themselves in a room that had a aerial cable car. "Maybe we can use this," said Aiko. Rebecca was contacted about it. The first item of business was pulling a lever, which caused a path to be opened. This allowed everyone to regroup. The control panel for the car was found and the coil along with a battery for it was inserted into the right places. With this power was given to the vehicle. Everyone made their way to the cable car but weren't aware something was watching them. Suddenly a mutated monkey jumped down in front of Uma and Rebecca. The two females were able to dodge the attack. Before any of the others could attack, the enemy had launched itself at Billy and Logan. Both tried to fight back, but the monster sent itself and them over the edge of a railing.

"LOGAN!" the witch cried out.

Then Nicholas turned and whipped out his katana, slicing a leech enemy to bits that had appeared behind them. Suddenly the power to the cable car went out. Going back up to the control panel showed more leeches had done it. This problem was quickly fixed, but nobody was going to leave Logan or Billy behind. They would have to be found. However since the two missing people had gone in the same direction, the only way was by the cable car. It carried the rest to another area. A couple of rooms latter found a map that stated it was a factory. The next item that was found was a key to the place. The item was used in the panel room to call a lift. The group went to it and descended down to the lower levels. The group found a door to get through. But before they did, they heard the sound of someone coming. They quickly got ready as the door opened up. But it was only the captain that had been at the very beginning.

"You're alive," Rebecca stated as he put his gun away.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked.

"Where is everybody?"

"They should've arrived here before me. Haven't you seen them?" The rest shook their heads. "That's unfortunate. If we go straight ahead from here, we should arrive at an old mansion, which Rindella uses for research. Come on, let's go."

"Wait, we've gotta find Billy and Logan," Uma said.

"Billy Doan?" the male human asked. "You mean you guys found that criminal and Logan's missing?"

"Yes, but we got separated."

"No point worrying about the first one, he won't make it. As for the other… I'm sorry to say the same for him. Come on."

"Please sir," Rebecca stated. "We need to find them. Don't worry, we'll catch up with you."

The guy gave them all a long look. "Alright, just be careful." He went on ahead; and that was the last time the rest of the group saw him. They found a key to an elevator nearby and took it. They found the place to use it and activated it. While waiting for the lift to come up, the sound of a few falling rocks could be heard. They turned and Nicholas and those who knew what had caused it gasped in shock. Standing above them was another Titan. This one was different in that the right hand was clawed with one large talon in the middle. The skin was bloody but the same heart extrusion could be seen on the chest.

"What is that?" Rebecca whispered.

"Shit!" Nicholas growled and he along with Liru transformed. "Not another Titan!"

It let out a roar after flexing the muscles it had before jumping down to the group. The movements the monster had were a bit shaky and unorthodox movements of the last one. It suddenly reared and struck at the female human. Rebecca was just barely able to move out of the way. An alarm went off and the doors out closed.

"Hit this thing hard!" Napoleon snarled as he went in. Cosmo did with his fists. The male android was better equipped. Both of these guys found their marks along with the shots from Rebecca and the others. The Titan roared in pain. The movements it had were uncoordinated. It couldn't match the speed the group had. It only took a couple minutes to put it down.

"Did we kill it?" Pachira whispered.

"Maybe," Cosmo replied. "Strange, this wasn't like the last one."

"I agree," Nicholas commented. "Most likely this one wasn't as developed or is even a prototype." Suddenly the sound that the lift had arrived got their attention and everyone was on board.

While heading down, none of them realized the same young man from before was monitoring them. He chuckled. "Play time is over," the guy said. "You and your friends no longer amuse me. Good riddance. Now, nothing will stop me from getting my revenge."

The elevator made it to the lowest level. It was here they found Billy and Logan below the walkway in water. The two were unconscious and against a rock. "LOGAN!" Uma shouted. Everyone suddenly saw something from below come up and sent both guys flying up, causing them to come back. However this also allowed the current to sweep them away.

"NO BILLY!" Rebecca yelled.

"Quick! After them!" Nicholas ordered. They went through a door in the right direction. However they soon came to a control panel that gave power to the dam area. Cosmo was on it and soon had all the points activated. With that power came on everywhere. Now it was onward, along the way picking up a map of the place. Eventually the path got them to the male human and wizard. Everyone rushed over right away. Cosmo pressed on each of them, causing the two to come to and spit up some water. Uma hugged Logan hard while Rebecca raised Billy up.

"You guys…" the wizard stated. "Where are we?"

"You're safe now," Uma whispered. "Are you okay?"

Billy suddenly stopped and looked what lay in front. Everyone else did and could see the remains of human skeletons. "What could have done this?" Aiko whispered.

"They… must have been used as test subjects in Doctor Marcus's research," Cosmo stated.

"He must have kept messing around with the mother virus," Billy said.

"Come on, let's move," Nicholas commented.

They all headed back to more familiar area. One of these was a bit of a puzzle to reach a handle that went into a hatch door. They went through it to advance. In the new area some naked zombies had to be beaten. But no genitals could be seen on them. Then it was up a ladder to the rafters above. It was here an Investigator's Report 2 was found. This went on to say how they should have finished with this dump but not expecting the monsters down here. Also the things in the woods just started to attack people. The whole thing had to be planned and that someone deliberately scattered the virus. This like all the papers was taken and all to be found up here. So then it was onto the door nearby on the floor below. Here some more muted enemies had to be killed before proceeding further. The next room was a lodging one. In here a piece of paper explaining about how to make battery fluid was found. This would come in handy and taken.

A few rooms latter some more zombies had to be beaten. There was also a Plant Manger report here. This one complained about how normal industrial waste was being delivered here and that the Rindella Corporation facility couldn't deal with the volume of material. As well as contaminated materials that couldn't be processed. It then went on to say this place was being closed. There was a small lift here that the group took to get below. There were machines of some kind that had to deal with water pressure. Everyone then walked pass a certain point. They heard the sound of something like a hand hitting metal. The group turned and to most of their shock it was the same Titan from before. "Shit, he's back again!" Nicholas snarled. Both him and Liru transformed.

The monster was fired upon. While it took damage they could see that it hadn't healed up from the last fight. The enemy tried to get at the group, but the attacks were too much and the monster couldn't do a thing. It didn't take long to put it down for good this time. "Did we… really kill it?" the female werewolf asked. The male just stabbed the creature in the head several times.

"Yeah, he's dead," Nicholas stated.

The group then found a button and pushed it, which caused a ladder to descend. Going up it found them on the walkway above. Here a mother board was found and taken. This was put back into a control panel that worked a gondola. It came over with an open empty box. It was big enough for some like Rebecca to go in. Seeing how she was the only one, the female human went ahead. In the area ahead, Rebecca found a lever to operate a dam. She did so, opening up another path. In the room next door she had to kill of some mutated insects. After doing so Rebecca unlocked a door and grabbed another item that would help before heading down some stairs. Here there were a couple capsules of liquid that held more of the same kinds of enemies. The rest of the group got contacted by her and went to her position. Now that they were here, a battery on a shelf could be obtained.

Upon getting it, the things from the capsules came out, forcing everyone to attack them. It didn't take long and then it was back upstairs. Here the battery and item obtained before were combined which the latter having the acid needed for the first. Then it was back a bit to a fork lift that had been passed by before. With the battery it could be operated. Using it allowed access to a keycard. Then heading back it was onto a new path. They could see there were in some darker area. But they kept going on. The final room that was entered would be the end of it all. The group looked and stopped short. It was dark and poorly lit. But what was the most disturbing was the hundreds if not thousands of leeches in here. They covered the walls, railings on the upper observation level, and floor; leaving those areas dripping with the slime they produced.

"Welcome young ones, so glad you have joined the party," said a soft voice. Looking up showed it was the young man, wearing the long white robe of some kind, long brown hair, and had icy green eyes. "You are the guests of honor. After all, it's your wake." He let out an evil chuckle.

"Who are you?!" Billy asked. The newcomer didn't answer but instead morphed until a familiar looking person stood before the group.

"Doctor Marcus?!" the male monsters asked. The female ones were in shock.

"No, you can't be," Rebecca stated. "What's going on?"

"Ten years ago, Lencer had me assassinated." In his mind's eye the flashback of it happening went through him. Showing how two guards shot him and was approached by the other two men from before. "However… something wondrous happened. It took the D-Virus inside of my queen. Years to procreate my new life." Suddenly Marcus turned back into his younger self. "I live! Now I will have my revenge on Rindella! And the world will burn in an inferno of hate!" The enemy let out an evil laugh.

"You'll pay for what you've done!" Nicholas shot back.

"We'll see which one of us is gonna die!" Marcus laughed again but it got cut off as he coughed up some clear slimy liquid. From his mouth some black things came out which appeared to be more leeches. Suddenly the group saw his body began to morph and change into a humanoid like leech creature. It jumped to the ceiling with surprising speed before landing in front of them. The final fight was on.

Liru and Nicholas transformed while the humans took a step back to fire. The male werewolf went in with his katana and managed to hack and slice at the monster. It then reared and struck back, catching the blow on the blade. "Damn it!" Nicholas growled as for a moment he held but then was sent flying back.

"It's this strong?!" Cosmo asked as it went for the male android next. It wasn't able to make this one budge so it focused its attention on the humans.

"Oh no you don't!" Napoleon snarled and with a powerful kick sent back away from them. Uma and Logan used their power to summon some fire on the monster. While this seemed to work, it wasn't enough.

"How much longer now?!" Liru asked.

"Keep going! We can beat this thing!" Billy exclaimed.

Suddenly the thing let out a roar and tentacles sprouted from its back. It tried to strike at them but Nicholas was ready, slashing these things to bits. Although it was a wasted effort since they grew back. But it wasn't going to take much longer at all. After another minute the enemy let out roars as blood came out of areas. Everyone could see it had even more mouths. The thing then fell to the ground, not moving at all. Billy then noticed two lift keys, which were taken. "That's it, it's over," he said.

"Let's get out of here," Logan said. They went to the door where the keys were use. They found the lift and were soon on it and heading up to the surface. About halfway up something shook the area, which was felt.

"What?!" Rebecca asked and they all looked down.

"It's the queen!" Billy exclaimed. They could see the enemy had mutated and was on all fours along with having more mouths. Suddenly a female voice came on, announcing a sentience.

"The self destruction system has been activated. All staff evacuate immediately."

"Who activated the self destruct system?!" Pachira asked.

"Come on, can't this thing move any faster?!" Logan stated. The monster from below came charging at them with surprising speed.

"Shit!" Nicholas cried out as it rammed into the lift, sending the group flying out and onto the drop off point. The enemy came out, ready to kill. Everyone got ready and began to attack. The werewolves were still transformed and didn't have to again. This time Logan and Uma used both fire and lighting to attack. The male werewolf had a gun that was whipped and used as well as his katana. The group had to avoid the suddenly lunges this thing did plus the liquid it would spew out. A couple minutes of this fight continued before a stray attack went up, hitting the ceiling of the place, creating a hole. Some sunlight shown through, hitting the creature and it reared in discomfort and pain.

"It can't handle the sunlight!" Liru exclaimed.

"Four of you handle getting the roof open!" Billy ordered. "The rest will distract this thing!"

The female werewolf, Aiko, Uma, and Pachira ran for one of the controls while the rest handled on distracting the monster. They got to them and released the locks on the roof. Daylight streamed in, hitting the enemy. It let out roars of pain, and parts of it began to melt away. Billy cocked his gun at the thing. "Hey queen!" he shouted. "Feast on this!" The bullet came out, hitting the monster in the middle and tearing it apart. It fell down the shaft just as the fire came out from the explosion that was accruing. The threat of the leeches and Marcus was dead with it.

"Quick! Let's get out of here!" Aiko cried. Everyone ran for it and got out in time as the facility was destroyed. The group slowly walked forward to the edge of a cliff, seeing it was morning now. This whole process had taken the entire night. Rebecca then noticed something in the distance.

"Hey that must be the old mansion that was mentioned," she said. The rest looked and could see it.

"Yeah," Nicholas commented. "But we're not hitting it yet. Not without sending the proof we found that Rindella needs to be taken down in this country. When the time comes, we'll hit the place."

Billy looked to the female human and the other monsters. "I guess it's time to say goodbye," he commented. The guy brought out the dog tags he had and handed them to Rebecca.

"Officially, Lieutenant Billy Doan is dead," she stated after putting them on.

"Yeah, I'm just a zombie now, huh?"

"But not forgotten in our minds," Nicholas replied. He and the rest saluted the guy who returned the jester. The male was never seen again, but not forgotten. Cosmo managed to get a helicopter to come pick them up. Rebecca returned to F.I.L.E.S. while the monster went back to Japan. The stuff they had found was copied and sent to the organization for a case to be drawn against Rindella so that mansion found could be attacked next. The original documents were kept. But it would take three months before that would happen. Time that the guys would spend with the females in relaxation before the next big thing.


	13. Chapter 13

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 13: Christmas and New Years Romance

Author's notes: The songs that play during this are actual ones that can be found. The first Beautiful Liar is by VIXX LR, Wedding Dress is by Taeyang, and the last is from Dandy in Love. All of these can be found on Youtube.

X

The rest of November passed by without any unusual scary activity and it became December. It could be seen around the city where the group was staying. Unlike the last one the females were a bit more knowledgeable about the holiday and had the guys to straighten out any confusions they had with this time and other things. The males also had something bought something for the girl they liked. It was going to be fun no matter what. The females on the other hand were looking forward to what the fun this month would bring with the males.

Napoleon made good on his promise to Pachira. The day after getting back he sat down at the piano that the female didn't know was in the mansion. He amazed her by the amount of skill the male had. It caused Pachira to fall for Napoleon even more. The guy decided this would be the month to finally let her know how he felt about the female. He wasn't the only one thinking this. "That was great!" Pachira cried as Napoleon finished another track.

"I'm glad you liked it," he answered with a grin, the light flashing off of his white teeth.

"Do you have anymore?"

"Sorry, but I think that will do for now." Seeing the disappointed look she had Napoleon smiled. "Don't worry, I just want to make sure I can play something every day. Okay?"

Pachira nodded and gave him a squeeze, which the male returned. These two weren't the only ones who had interaction like this. Cosmo and Aiko were hard at work with the samples that had been retrieved. "Damn it!" the male android stated. "Nothing yet! All we've found out is that it's the same thing!"

"Cosmo…" the female whispered, scared the guy was acting like this. Seeing the look on her face, caused his to soften.

"Sorry," Cosmo said. "It's just the reason I asked for samples is to try to find a cure. If I could make one, all those zombies and things we had come across could've been saved maybe."

"You think we can make one?"

"Not without other things. More samples of the originator of the virus for example would be good. I just don't have the ability to get out to where it was; all because I don't know where it was found originally."

"I know you'll fine it," the female said. It caused Cosmo to feel better.

Meanwhile Logan and Uma were talking a bit and he was showing the witch even more advanced techniques, which included healing ones. "I didn't think there was this much I could do," Uma stated while wearily resting on the table with a thick volume opened up.

"You've been doing great," the wizard replied with a smile. "But if you ever want to get to my level, you'll have to. There are no shortcuts if you want to get truly strong."

"I guess," the witch replied. Liru and Nicholas in the meantime were both out bringing things back that was food.

"Thanks for the help," the male werewolf said to the female.

"It's nothing," she responded.

"You know… We haven't really been out like this since the time I showed you what I really was, have we?"

"No," Liru answered, blushing a bit.

"Well… maybe latter on we can do so. You know, like a date."

" _A DATE?!_ " the female thought in her head, red now. But after a few moments she was able to responded. "That sounds good. I'd love that." Nicholas didn't say anything else, but wrapped one arm around her waist. Liru snuggled into the male's side.

The days passed by quickly and soon the tree had been acquired. It then found the whole group trimming it; but not without the occasional slip up from one of the females. They weren't anything big but it was entertainment for the guys. Then the next bit came when everyone woke up the next day to find it snowing. "Let's check it out!" Logan suggested.

They all got ready and were out enjoying this new change in weather. The female were by the guy they liked or by this point were to being in love with. The group decided to head into the town to see what it was like at this time of the year. It was decorated with lights and other things. "This is so beautiful," Pachira stated. Suddenly a snowball got the female vampire in the side of the head. Whipping around she saw that Uma had done it and Logan was grinning.

"That's it!" Pachira made another snowball quickly and threw it. The projectile missed and got Nicholas in the back of the head.

"Who threw that?!" he snarled and whipped around. Suddenly another missile in the complete opposite direction got him. All hell broke loose as the females and males started having a snowball fight. But soon they were all laughing and having a good time. It wasn't too much longer and found them warming up inside one of the buildings that was open and showing off it's Christmas stuff.

"That was so much fun!" Liru stated with a big smile. "We should do that again!"

"Yeah, maybe teams vs. teams," Nicholas agreed. They talked about a few more things before heading out again.

Then at last it came time for Christmas. The females were excited for this event with the guys. The girls knew this wouldn't be like last year. What none of them realized it would be the beginning of something wonderful for two of them. The whole group woke up at a reasonable time and one by one made their way to living room where the tree and presents were. The piano was also in here as well. "Well seems like we're all here now," the male werewolf said with a grin.

The guys and girls who liked each other sat next to that one person. The males had one arm around them, causing the females to snuggle up next to the individual. "So who should go first?" Logan asked.

"Me!" Uma cried out. The wizard smiled and with his wand got her present from him to her.

"Here, I think you'll like it," the male stated.

The witch took his gift and saw it was brightly colored with the paper along with the ribbons. It seemed to be a bit heavy. She slowly opened it to find it was more than one thing. One of them was a new spell book, things to take care of her wand and clothes, and other things her pet rabbits would enjoy. "Logan…" the female whispered.

"I know you may have some of this but I saw you were getting a little low,' the wizard replied. "And the book has spells not for combat but for other things. Ones that you should enjoy." The next thing everyone knew was that the female had lunged for him and hugged the guy hard.

"Thank you… thank you…" she repeated. It took a bit to calm Uma down but Logan was glad to see this had been a success.

"I'm glad you like," the wizard answered. "I wonder what you've gotten for me?"

"How did you know?" Uma responded in a whisper.

"Cause it wouldn't be fair to me, now would it?" The male directed his present over by magic and unwrapped it by hand. To Logan's surprise it was new wizards cloths but ones to be for colder climates. The colors were like what Uma and him liked. "Uma…. where or how did you do this?"

"Well… I found some robes and used magic to change them around," she answered.

"This is fantastic," Logan said. "Really! I didn't think you could do something like this! You've gotten much stronger with your magic!"

The witch just blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. Everyone watched the guy put them on and how good he looked. "Well now, maybe the little lady here should go next," Napoleon commented, looking at Pachira.

The female vampire blushed but looked up to his kind gaze with a smile. "Sure, I'm ready," she responded.

"Well I've got a few things for you," the male vampire stated and got her gift. Napoleon handed it over. "I think you'll like this."

Pachira saw it was a small one and opened it up to find a box of the same size. With slightly trembling fingers she managed to get it open. Inside was a necklace that had a single rose attached to it. The flower was a deep red, to the point of being purple. In the center was a single ruby. She couldn't believe Napoleon would get her something this beautiful. The female stared at it, while holding it in her right palm. "Do you like it?" the male asked.

The next thing everyone knew was that Pachira had talked him in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you… Thank you…" the female repeated a few times. "I love it!"

Chuckling the male hugged her back. "I'm glad you do," he whispered into Pachira's ear. They then came apart so he could put in around her neck. "You look so beautiful with it on." This caused the said female to blush harder while everyone else looked on with grins. Pachira could say anything else, Napoleon got up from the couch, which got her attention.

"What now?" she asked.

"Because it's time for me to play for you," he answered. The guy went to the piano. "The first two are instrumentals to other songs while the third is one you inspired."

"Really?" Pachira commented. "I did?"

"Yes. Oh Nicholas? Can you get that other thing out?" The male werewolf nodded and left Liru's side for a moment to place some kind of player on top of the instrumental. The guy then returned to the female werewolf's side. The vampire at the piano turned on the player. With a breath he began to play the instrumental version of Beautiful Liar. The males knew this song but the females didn't. Pachira was instantly touched by how beautiful this sounded. The player added some beats that Napoleon couldn't replicate on the piano.

When it was over, the female vampire couldn't help but go over and hug the male. "That was so beautiful," she whispered into his ear.

"I'm glad you liked that. But now here's the second one." He got the player ready and began to play the instrumental version Wedding Dress. Once again the player did the sounds he couldn't replicate. Pachira didn't leave his side but laid her head on the males back, taking her arms off the body so the guy could play. Like before none of the females had heard of this song but loved it. The guys already knew what this was of course. About halfway through it Pachira couldn't help but kiss the back of Napoleon's head. He felt this and knew one more was all it would take.

When the song was over he got another hug by her again. "Loved it?" he asked and the female vampire nodded. "Then here's one more for you."

He began to play another instrumental. It wasn't from any song but rather a show in a piano form. The player wasn't used this time. Pachira couldn't help but also love it as well as the other females. When it was over Napoleon turned around to face the female just in time to meet her arms. He wrapped his around her. "That was great. All of them," she whispered. "All of them were beautiful."

"Yes," he answered and pulled back to look at her. "But not as much as you right now." The next thing Pachira and the rest knew the male had connected their lips. The rest of the girls made noises of surprise while the vampire did a muffled gasp. The other guys just looked on with smiles while the vampires had this kiss. It was Pachira's first but a few seconds of contact from the male she answered him back. It could've been days but they came apart.

"Napoleon…" the female whispered, not wanting to believe it.

"Pahcira… I like you…" he stated softly. The male stroked the side of her face and she grabbed the hand with both of hers.

"Really?" Pachira asked in a whisper, not wanting to believe it.

"Yes…."

"But… how?" the vampire replied. "I mean… look at me, I'm-"

Napoleon placed one finger on her lips to make the female stop talking. "Shhh… I don't want to hear how you may think you're not worthy enough for me. You don't know how much you are. I know you think maybe you're not as high in the body department as say Liru. I know you sometimes think you look plain. That's not true at all; because I can see a vampire who's cute and quite the lady. Somebody who I want by my side…"

"You mean that?" the female whispered, now feeling Napoleon stroke her left cheek.

"Yes… I like you and want you to go out with me…"

That was all Pachira needed to be convinced. She shouted out with happiness and hugged the male hard. "YES I WILL! I LIKE YOU TO!" The two kissed again while the rest of the males looked to each other with grins. The other females on the other hand couldn't help but feel a little jealous since Pachira had finally gotten that boyfriend.

"Alright then you love birds, let's move onto the next person," Nicholas stated with a grin as Napoleon and Pachira hadn't moved from their spot or stopped the kiss. Both vampires came apart, the female blushing more so than the male. "We'll never get anywhere if you don't."

"Yeah, yeah," Napoleon grumbled. Taking Pachira by the hand the two got cozy on the couch.

"So Aiko, how about it?" Cosmo asked. "Want to see what you've got?"

"Sure, I guess," she answered. The present she got from the male android was one the female liked. The one to him was one that he loved on the other hand. That left only two others.

"So want my gift first?" Nicholas asked to Liru.

"I'd like to," the female answered.

The male grabbed her present and their fingers touched as she was handed it. "I know you've wanted one for awhile now." Liru began to open it and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw what it was. It was a camera. This item was one the werewolf had tried to get it after discovering TV shopping. Needless to say that experience hadn't gone well. "So what do you think?" Nicholas asked.

The female just squealed and tackled the male with a hug and even a kiss on the cheek. Now both of them were lying on the couch. "I love it! I love it!" she cried.

"I'm glad," the male responded, rubbing her back. He had a big grin on his face.

"Here, let me get yours," Liru said and left for just a second. The female came back and handed it to Nicholas. It turned out the guy loved his gift from the female to him. The way he thanked her was a kiss on the cheek. And in his mind was the idea to finally let this female know how he felt about her someday.

The rest of the days passed on without much incident. Other than it was obvious that Pachira and Napoleon's relationship got stronger with each passing day. But soon this couple wouldn't be the only one. It then became December 31st. And that meant it was time for the New Year's celebration. Everyone was planning to attend it in the city and stay up all night for it. "Ready for this?" Cosmo asked the other males as they made their way to the entrance of their place.

"I am for Pachira," the male vampire replied.

"Then where are they?" Logan asked.

"You know females," Nicholas said. "They want to make sure they're good for any occasion. Especially Pachira for Napoleon."

"She'll always look good no matter what," the said guy stated. Suddenly a pair of arm got him from behind as the female vampire got her new boyfriend.

"Hey you," she cooed. "Oh look at how handsome you are."

"Hey there," the male vampire told his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek causing Pachira to giggle.

"Well there's one, now where is-" Nicholas began but then got a hug from behind. Looking behind saw Liru doing it and the other two females with her. All of them were in kimonos of different colors and designs. The guys were more in coats and other winter gear.

"I'm so excited for this!" Uma stated.

"We all are," Logan agreed.

"Then let's go," Cosmo commented and opened the door.

The area in the city was crowded. Luckily it wasn't too hard for the small group to stay together. The females looked around at all the booths and other things that had been set up. "I can't believe there are so many people here," Liru stated.

"What'd you expect?" Nicholas asked.

"So what should we do first?"

"I suggest the bell over there," the male werewolf pointed over his shoulder just as it went off.

"Here, keep close to me," Napoleon said to Pachira who nodded with a smile and hung onto his left arm with love.

"Oh I will," the female vampire replied. They were up first in the group to ring the bell before the rest went.

"Now that we've done that, let's have some fun!" Aiko commented.

There were games and other things. The group tried a little of everything including throwing coins for luck into a container. "I really hope this year I get stronger in magic," the witch stated.

"Is that your biggest wish?" Logan asked.

"Well… maybe like my second. The first one… I'll ask latter."

"Wait, did you…?" began the wizard but both were called over by their friends to draw fortunes.

"You should pull one as well," Uma said.

"Okay," Logan replied. The female got what was known as a Big Fortune. And the words, "You will have good luck in love," stuck out in her mind. The wizard on the other hand got a Below Average one. The next thing was to tie them up. Uma had a bit of trouble since she couldn't reach the top. Logan had to help her.

"Is up here alright?" he asked. The witch just nodded since their fingers had touched and it was making her blush. The group then went to have some tea and food that went well with this night.

"Okay, now that we're full, let's go to the main event!" Nicholas declared.

"What would that be?" Liru asked.

"There's a small shrine up at the top of the mountain. You can see the sun rise from there. But it's not easy since there's a long flight of steps to the top. And there's a time limit since you can't start until thirty minutes before sunrise. But they say if you can get there, your wish will come true."

"Sounds tough, but I'm going to get it!" the female werewolf declared.

"Did you research into this before hand Uma?" Logan asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "I want my wish to come true." What it was though the witch didn't say. They all gathered at the base with the rest who had come here.

"Damn this seems different than the last time I was here," Cosmo commented.

"I don't know if they can handle my weight," Aiko whispered. The male android placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You should be fine. I've looked into them and they'll be able to handle it just fine."

An announcement was made that the bell to take off would be run. Everyone got ready and the instrument was stuck. Everyone began to climb up. "I'll do it!" Uma stated and Logan heard her. Soon it became obvious that many couldn't make it. The male monsters were fine and could see the ones that had collapsed. The wizard could see the witch panting as she made it to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… let me rest a bit…" She plopped right down.

"I think this may be a bit tough for you."

"But…"

"And it's almost time for sunrise," Logan continued.

"Then I need to get going," Uma said and got up. Only to stagger and be caught by the wizard. "It looks like I won't make it…" The male could see the sad look on her face.

"Uma!" he said and swept the witch off of her feet. "I'll take you there!"

"Huh?!" the female asked. "Logan?!"

"Hold on tight!" With a wave of his wand, the male enhanced his jumping and speed to be even greater. Everyone noticed it. But Uma could only focus on how it felt to be in his arms and blushed hard. Soon they were both at the top.

"Look like we made it," Logan stated.

"We did but… I wanted to get here on my own…" the female stated.

"I'm sorry… but I wanted you to see the sunrise." She took in his words and blushed. The male placed one hand on her shoulder. "Look, there it is." The witch looked out on it and was stunned by how beautiful it was.

"Wow… I've never seen one like it before…" She looked up into his eyes with a smile. "I'm glad I got to see this with you."

"I am as well…" Logan replied and then smiled. "It looks really good on you know…"

"Really?" Uma blushed harder and saw his face was a bit closer. "I never thought it would be…"

"You have no idea how much it is…" The wizard closed the distance with his lips on hers. The witch just did a muffled gasp and her eyes went wide with shock. For 30 seconds she just stood there before slowly retuning the kiss and having her arms go around his neck. How long it lasted they didn't know before pulling back. "Uma I like you… a lot…"

"You do?" The wizard nodded.

"Yes… and I want you to go out with me…"

Uma let out a happy gasp and hugged the male hard. "YES! I like you to!" They kissed again before making their way to the shrine at the top here.

"So you need to make your wish."

"It's already come true," the witch stated. "But that doesn't mean I can't make a new one." They did so which was for the other to be happy and together forever.

"We finally made it," came another voice. Logan and Uma looked up to see the others.

"We didn't make it," Liru commented.

"There's always next year," Nicholas said. "Especially if Logan here helps us."

"You do it yourself," the wizard responded.

"So you made it up here," Aiko said to Uma. "What was your wish?"

"Well…" The new couple then went on to explain how they were now going out.

"Well good for you," Pachira stated. "At least you found a guy for you."

They all stayed at the top for a while before heading down. The couples in them held hands the entire time. But this month and the next would be good on the remaining four who were still single.


	14. Chapter 14

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 14: January and Valentine's Day

For the month of January the new couples were quite happy. It could be seen with them and the feelings they had got stronger. It showed in Uma's training and magic; it had somehow gotten stronger. Logan stated it was because the feelings she had for him showing through it. However seeing this was making Liru feel sad and wanting that with Nicholas. Aiko on the other hand was just happy for her friends. The female werewolf brought this up to the android with glasses. "Well… I'm not an expert on this kind of thing," Aiko stated. "I don't know how to help…"

"I know that but I need to talk to someone about this," Liru grumbled.

"Well… does he act like he doesn't want to spend time with you at all? Cause Cosmo doesn't with me."

"No he doesn't," the other female admitted.

"Then I think you'll be okay." Liru still didn't look convinced.

Aiko and Pachira in the meantime were happier than they had ever been and it could be felt. The same could be said about their boyfriends. The four would go out on dates and sometimes do doubles. The relationships they had got stronger each passing day. But it was making the other two males even more determined to go through with it and tell the remaining females how they felt about them. And it was best to do it now because during the month of March, it would be back to work on taking on the enemy. F.I.L.E.S. by that point would have been able to go over the information that had been gathered and authorized an attack. In the meantime no strange fog had popped up as of late. So the nights were safe to be out and walk.

A couple of weeks latter found Cosmo tinkering on some machinery. A noise of someone entering made him look up. It was Aiko. "Oh hey," he stated with a grin.

"Hey," she answered back, a bit embarrassed. The female then noticed the machinery. "What's all this?"

"Oh just something for when we go back into the fight latter. And some is upgrade weapons for myself. You should think of trying some."

"No way!" Aiko replied. "I'm not the combat type."

"Maybe, but what about things to reduce the weight you have or even to get in the water like me?" Cosmo asked. "I know you're 660 pounds while I'm only 150."

"But how?" she asked.

"It's all because of the light, strong metals that make up my body. Interested in knowing how?"

"Show me." He then went on to explain by picture and diagram on how this was done. Aiko was able to follow easily and was impressed. "Could it really be done for me?"

"Well… If you let me I can," Cosmo stated.

"You'd really do that?" He nodded and the female hugged him hard. "Oh thank you!"

"It will be a process, but I'm certain we could get it finished before being called into action again." With that, the male began to go over with her about what this would involve. This included mainly not only replacing the majority of Aiko's body, but also her memory space. Of course she got to choose the designs presented to her. The two would reveal this in time to everyone else. But even they could notice something was up with them.

The whole process took about a month to finish. Some of it had to been due to figuring how some parts would work on Aiko and what she wanted. But eventually the whole process was finished. Cosmo called everyone to the area where they had opened presents before. "I wonder what this is about?" Liru wondered out loud.

"It's must be important," Nicholas commented.

The male android then entered the room with a grin on his face. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "But it involves Aiko. May I present the new her."

The female came out and looked exactly the same causing a couple to raise their eyebrows. "And what is there to see?" Uma asked out of curiosity.

Cosmo looked as if the witch had mortally insulted him. "You actually think there isn't any? Well there is. Aiko here has been upgraded and is some ways a new android. While it can't be seen now or in personality, I Cosmo will show you how."

The male android brought up diagrams although very detailed, were easy to understand. The metals used to make Aiko's new body were the kind to be light yet hard. With this her weight was much lower than before, allowing the female to get on things like elevators and lifts. Her fingers could now transform into different tools, perfect for hacking. She could even swim without any assistance. "With this she can be useful in the field a non fighting way," the male android explained.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Liru stated.

"I'm just happy he did this for me," Aiko commented and went to Cosmo's side. He smiled and gave her a squeeze. Latter that night found the two on the roof of the house, looking up at the sky.

"Look at it," the female stated, looking up.

"Yeah," the male agreed. "Looking up makes you realize how big the world is. That and how big our universe really is."

"Did I ever tell you about the Andromeda Galaxy that we visited one day?" This got the male's attention and Aiko explained all about it.

"I know I'll go back someday," the female eventually said to finish her explanation.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Cosmo stated, having a gleam in his eyes like a little kid on Christmas morning. "I guess there really is life in the universe other than what's on here. But why would you want to?"

"Maybe just to see what else there is and not get a human body."

This answer was the last thing the male was expecting to hear and he didn't know what to say at first. "You wanted one?"

"Before you did this for me so I could be somewhat more normal. But then… you came and did this for me." Both were blushing by this point and holding hands. Aiko had never had a guy to act like this and something was telling her to go with it this way.

"Well maybe you're right about that," Cosmo replied and gave it a squeeze. "I don't know if I would've done that for any android. But you're different than any I've met."

"Me?" she asked. "I'm not that special."

"You're wrong about that." Their eyes were locked. "You have no idea how special you are to me…"

Before the female could answer that Cosmo leaned down, his lips on hers. Aiko was in shock by the look on her face and the way she just stood there. For 30 seconds she was like that before returning in a kiss on the male. The two stayed that way for the longest time under the stars before coming apart. He brought her gently in with his arms. "I never thought that kiss would be a good one…"

"Cosmo…" the female whispered. "Do you…?"

"Yes, I like you a lot. And don't say it can't be because it is."

"But how? I mean look at me."

"You're more pretty than you know," Cosmo replied. "I know you are which is why I fell for you and why I did all that for you. But how do you feel about me?"

She smiled up at him. "I like you as well."

"Then… what's say we go out?"

"Yes! I would love to!" The two hugged and kissed again, making them the third pair to hook up.

It didn't take too long for the others to notice them and how happy the androids were. The only who wasn't was Liru and how she wanted that with Nicholas. Every time the female werewolf did approach him though her nerve would fail her. And yet at the same time the male seemed to not reject Liru at all. However it wouldn't be until the month of February that things between the two would really begin to heat up. The reason why it would take until that time was because Nicholas wanted to wait just a bit until the right day to make it even more special for her.

Then two days before Valentine's Day it found the male werewolf outside her door. "Well, here goes nothing," he said out loud. The guy knocked on the door.

"Hold on!" came the reply. It opened to find Liru blushing at the sight of him. "Oh… hey Nicholas…"

"Hey Liru," he responded, smiling gentility.

"What brings you by?"

The male took a moment to gather the courage. He was a little nervous but not as much as the female. "Well… I was wondering if you'd like to head out with me two days from now? You know, just to hang out on a date?' She didn't speak at first but just smiled since the female was that happy. "Unless-"

Nicholas was stopped when Liru reached out and hugged him. "I would love to," she replied. "Will it be around the city?"

"Pretty much." He was also happy as well that this had worked. "I'll leave you be now." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before closing the door. Liru couldn't help but wonder if she now had more than just a shot with the guy. Nicholas was just grinning from ear to ear.

X

The day then came and both were excited. At least this time the female wasn't confused when this day came around like the last time. That had been embarrassing. However what was really on Liru's mind was seeing the other couples out today. The female could see them holding hands and things like that. It made her sad since Nicholas didn't seem to want to do that with her.

"Hey, you in there Liru?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. It caused the female to come back to the present.

"Oh! Yes!" she answered back quickly.

"That's good," Nicholas commented with a smile. "So what do you want to do first?"

They both ended up going into what ever store caught their eyes. At certain parts the male had to wrap his arm around the female's waist so she wouldn't get hurt, run into someone, or something. Every time it would make Liru blush hard and snuggle a bit against Nicholas. However the male would then let go which caused disappoint to go through her body. But then noticed how he glared back other guys who were sending him jealous looks and move closer to the female. It made Liru think there was a chance with him after all.

The day went by with fun and laughs for them and Nicholas even got food for the two when it came to eat. It then became sunset and found the two looking over the city. "So, you have fun?" the male asked.

The female blushed and looked into his eyes. "Yes, thank you for this."

"That's good then." He had a smile, which made Liru relax a bit. They then looked up into the sky with the sun beginning to set fast. "Shouldn't be much longer until the moon is out."

"It's not going to be a full one."

"I know, but it'll still be a beautiful sight."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The two were silent a bit just watching the nightlife of the city begin to come out as that time fell.

"Shouldn't be much longer now," Nicholas then stated. "It's a clear night." The male then looked a little to the right and up and pointed. "Hey, there it is!"

Liru looked and saw it was a half moon. "Oh wow…" she whispered. "I've never seen one so perfect."

"I figured you'd like it," he said. His right arm went around Liru's shoulder, bring her in closer. This was different than what had been done before. The female could feel warmth and love in this move. The female just sighed with happiness and snuggled against the male. "I'm glad you're here to see this with me Liru…"

She didn't know what to say at first but take in his words, which held the same stuff as his arm. "I am to," the female answered and looked into his face. "But…"

"But what?" Nicholas asked gently, noticing that Liru seemed to go a bit sad.

"It's…" The female then stopped, trying to say it, but couldn't. Instead she began to tear up and started to cry. It left the male in shock.

"Liru?!" he asked.

"Why do all this for me?" the female stated hugging onto him hard. "Why when you don't feel the same as me?"

"Liru…" the male replied and hugged her back with a kiss to the forehead. This caused her to stop crying. He began to whip the remaining tears away. "I never realized how much I was hurting you by not being more clear. I'm sorry for that."

"What-?" she began but he placed one finger on her lips.

"Liru you don't realize how much you mean to me, more than any other person in the world. Everything up until now wasn't just to make you happy. I did it because… I love you."

Nicholas replaced his finger with his lips on hers. Liru's eyes went wide with shock, not expecting this. Not just because it was this male werewolf but also her first kiss. For 30 seconds the female stood there. But then slowly her eyes closed as she kissed him back, arms going around his neck while his fell to her waist. While this was different for Liru, Nichols took no notice as his tongue did most of the work. But the female quickly caught on while her tail wagged back and forth with happiness.

It could've been days before both werewolves came apart, gasping for breath, pink in the face. "Wow…" Liru whispered while panting slightly.

"That's an understatement," Nicholas replied with a wolfish grin before cupping her face with his right hand.

The female sighed happy, leaning her head into it. "I… I love you to," she said.

"Then I guess that makes us two in the same boat," the male replied kissing Liru's forehead, which caused her to giggle. "So now there's one thing left for me to do today. Liru… will you go out with me?"

She gasped with happiness and threw her arms around Nicholas. "YES! YES I WILL!" The two shared an even sweeter kiss with that. This made them the last couple to hook up but the first to be in love.

The rest of the days of February were like a dream for the two. Everyday the werewolves would go out on dates and have the best time of their lives. One that Nicholas really enjoyed was when Liru wore a hat and a shirt that went off the shoulders. It was warm enough to do so and the female loved the look on the male's face when she showed him. Of course right at the beginning of March they were contacted by F.I.L.E.S. that the time was fast approaching when the mansion would be looked into. And the adventures along with the danger would begin again.


	15. Chapter 15

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 15: Mansion of Horrors

Before that time would happen there would be a bit of romance between Nicholas and Liru. The female woke up on the day it would happen just happy as she could be. Having the male as a boyfriend made her that. She got ready quickly and skipped to the dinning room. The guy was just about to enter and Liru jumped to throw her arms around him. "Good morning!" she stated with a coo.

"Hey you," Nicholas responded with a chuckle and turned so they could kiss. "Sleep well Liru?"

"Like a pup," she replied and snuggled against him.

"Well I bet she's hungry," the male said and with his arm around her petite waist, led Liru into the dinning room. The female didn't mind this at all and felt even closer to Nicholas when he did this. She also knew that the guy would never go beyond that without asking her first. The male wasn't the kind of person to lead the female into a false sense of security before jumping her.

However, upon arriving, the two found that there wasn't any food at all set up by the other servants Napoleon had at the mansion. In fact, there wasn't anyone there. "What the hell?" Nicholas asked.

At that moment Cosmo and Akito came in. "I see you found the same problem we did," the male android commented.

"Why?" Liru asked. "What's up?"

"It seems some of the cooks got some food poising," Cosmo explained. "If you want food, you'll have to make it yourself."

"No problem," Nicholas stated. "I'll do it for us Liru."

"Wait, you can cook?" she asked.

"Just watch." They went to the kitchen and he opened the fridge. "Well now… let's get started."

What happened next seemed to be a whirlwind to the female werewolf as the male one seemed to be all over the place. The stove was soon on and pans were slammed onto the burners. A delirious smell was soon wafting through the area, making Liru's mouth water. She took a seat, watching her boyfriend labor over the food and smiled softly. "Here, you'll like it," Nicholas said after some minutes latter and placed a plate of food in front of her.

"Ooh I can't wait!" the female stated and brought the first bite to her mouth. Her eyes went wide with shock. "Oh my…. this is so good!"

"I'm glad you like it," her boyfriend answered with a grin. He began to eat as well. When it was finished, Liru couldn't help but hug him.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Now, we get things for latter," he answered. Nicholas took the female into the city's supermarket. She just loved how he held onto her all the time and snuggled close by his side. The male even had Liru help by sending her a bit down each aisle to get each item.

"No, not that meat," he said gently. "This one is more affordable."

"Awww, but I want it!" she said with a cute pout and puppy dog eyes. She had been trying to get the meat she loved the most.

"Nice try missy; it ain't happening. But I promise you when we have a real reason to celebrate I'll make you it. I promise. Besides, I think you'll love what I make tonight."

"Oh okay," the female said and kissed him on the cheek.

Liru wouldn't be disappointed after they got back with a lot of stuff. It was delivered to the kitchen. "Now watch, and learn," Nicholas said, bringing out a sharp knife and a piece of meat that had been bought. The bone was still attached to it. The guy laid it out on a board in a satisfying way. With two quick movements, he got the bone off with no problem, leaving most of the meat behind. Then in a number of slices and using his left index finger got them ready by then sprinkling some salt in a cool way.

"How did you do that?!" the female asked.

"A lot of practice," he answered. "I didn't get it within a day."

"Oh I love you even more!" she cooed and couldn't help but hug the male.

"I'm glad you do," he replied with a chuckle. "Now then, I need to cook it."

"I can't wait!" She gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and sat down to watch. It wasn't much longer and the food was ready.

"Here you go," Nicholas said and placed a plate in front of his girlfriend. She took the first bite and he saw her eyes go wide with shock.

"I love it!" Liru stated and dug in while the male chuckled while joining her. They continued to eat and it wasn't long before the plates were cleared. "So now what?"

"For now we just wait. It won't be long until we're called into action."

X

Nicholas's words proved true as two days latter F.I.L.E.S. made contact with them. They were picked up and soon heading back to the same place from before where it had happened. This time with them were others but there were two that stood out to Nicholas and the others. Chris, the brother of Claire, had been found by her but now was back into the field. Another named Jill Realentine who was good friends with Chris looked to be the kind of woman to be strong. These two along with everyone else were part of the Alpha team of F.I.L.E.S. and soon the helicopter touched down near the area that had been visited by Nicholas and the others before. Everyone got off. The humans knew about what had happened and were on guard. They also knew about the others in their group who were monsters. Everyone slowly began to make their way forward to the target. It was dark and a bit misty, setting an unsettling mood. Chris and Jill were right by the werewolves, androids, witch, wizard, and vampires. Suddenly a shot was heard, coming from the direction were another of the team had gone. Whirling, they saw the man being torn apart by zombie dogs. The shots Jill sent at the targets didn't seem to stop them.

The enemies turned to face her, gore and blood dripping down their jaws. One charged forward but Nicholas was ready. With a shot and quick slash, his katana cut the enemy in half. "Come on!" Chris cried and grabbed her.

"Go!" Napoleon stated as Liru transformed along with her boyfriend. "We'll handle them!"

The humans ran for it, which only included the leader, Chris, Jill, and another male by the name of Barry. The zombie dogs were finished off but more kept coming causing the others to flee with the team. They made it to the mansion and the entry hall. Here in the light the features of the humans could be seen more clearly. Chris was wearing a green vest, and dark pants. Jill had short hair along with a blue hat. The leader of the team named Albert was wearing dark glasses and armed for combat. Although he seemed reasonable, his voice made Nicholas think he was a guy who couldn't be trusted. Barry in the meantime wasn't with them and hadn't made it. The werewolves returned to their human forms.

"What is this hall?" Jill asked.

"I thought we told you guys when we came here," Nicholas said. Suddenly a shot was heard from elsewhere.

"What was that?!" Liru asked.

Chris loaded his gun. "I'll go and check it out," he stated.

"It's dangerous going alone," Jill commented. "I'll come with you."

"Count us in," Napoleon said. "We know the place well." The monsters began to walk with the humans.

"Alright," stated the leader of their group who's full name was Albert Desker. "I will stay and secure the area." Nicholas turned his head to face him, sending the guy a warning look and teeth bared.

The small group slowly went towards the sound. It was first through a dinning room and then into a hallway. Here the sound of moans and chewing could be heard. Walking around the corner saw a zombie feeding on a corpse of one of the other members. It slowly turned its head and rose up to face the group. "This can't be happening!" Jill stated as she shot the enemy dead.

"Believe it lady!" Nicholas shot back.

Liru's wolf ears then flicked. "I hear another behind!" Cosmo opened the door and shot the zombie in the dinning room dead.

"We need to get out of here!" Logan said as more zombies began to emerge.

"What are these things?!" Chris asked.

"I thought you'd gotten the report sent by us!" Napoleon snarled as he shot another enemy down. They were then back in the main hall and Albert was nowhere to be found.

"Desker?! Chris stated.

"Something isn't right," Jill commented.

"I feel it to," Nicholas stated. "Let's just hope him gone doesn't mean what I think it means."

Logan then shouted out and threw some lighting at a zombie that had popped up. Aiko tried the door but it was locked. Even she nor Comso couldn't get it opened; not even with the lock picking tools they had. The group then had to fend off a few more zombies. "This place is no good," Napoleon said. "We need to keep moving!"

"We might find some of the others along the way," Chris agreed.

The next room had more enemies and then in the next hallway, Nicholas used his katana to slice up a zombie dog that had come crashing in through a window. The group kept going along the path, eventually reaching some stairs that took them to the second level. It wasn't until they did that a faster zombie came onto the scene that was more resistant to some damage. The enemy was taken out quick. "You know I don't think this is just someone's summer home," Chris said.

"It never was," Nicholas commented. "Maybe before all this but not now."

It was then through two iron doors. The enemies inside were blown to bits. Then it was back down the hallway with another faster zombie bursting through a door. A few slices from the blades the group had put this one down. Then in the next area, which had walkways above the first floor, infected crows came out to attack. The path then went outside were more enemies attacked. But then around a corner came a familiar face. "Forest!" Chris exclaimed. "No!" Nicholas and the others recognized him as one from Bravo Team that had come here months ago, but now a zombie.

"No, not like this…" Jill whispered. Napoleon shot the former human dead as an act of mercy.

"I'm sorry, Forest," Chris commented. "I'll miss our target practice sessions." Jill just looked to this guy with worry.

"Can you get Desker on the line?" Logan asked.

"There's still no response," Aiko answered. "I hope everyone's alright."

The group then made it to another door and had to fight off even more enemies. Soon their path got them to a library like area. As soon as they entered, Nicholas's nostrils flared as he smelled something. "There's something here," he whispered and his hand went for the katana on his back.

Suddenly Jill heard the sound of hissing and whirled around to find a humongous snake dull in color but with red staring eyes. It lunged at the human who was able to dodge its fangs. It fell to the floor and began to slither around. "What in the hell?!" Chris asked.

"Watch the fangs, I bet they're poisonous!" Jill commented.

"Even if they aren't, if that thing gets a hold of us we're fucked," Logan said. Nicholas let out a yell and transformed as did Liru. The rushed forward with firing and in the male's case, hacking away with his katana. The two humans were new to this and froze, seeing them in action but returned to the present.

"Damn!" Nicholas growled as his blade glanced off the hide of the reptile. The shots didn't seem to do too much. The tail came around, sending both werewolves back. The snake reared its head back, mouth open wide. Aiko and Cosmo fired at it and the monster seemed to take some damage.

"Quick!" Napoleon ordered to Jill and Chris. "Get to the ladder!"

The humans climbed up it and saw the others dealing with the snake. It then slithered under a chandelier in the room, which Jill shot at. It came crashing down on the head of the enemy, doing some damage. Spitting and hissing, the creature focused on the humans and to everyone's shock slithered up one of the walls to where they were. Jill and Chris jumped back to the others and the enemy lunged down with the mouth open wide. Logan and Uma shouted out and fired some lighting into the area, wounding the snake even more. The thing slithered and tried to strike from another angle. Nicholas yelled and his aim with the katana was true and it became buried deep into the enemy. The sword was pulled out, and the monster hissed and spat loudly before crashing to the ground, dead.

"I'd hate to know what's coming next," Aiko whispered.

"There's a door, let's go," Chris said. They all went through and found themselves in a courtyard outside after the werewolves turned human again.

The first step was just making it through after fighting off some monsters. The group then made it to a path that was flooded by water. There was a control for a floodgate right by it. After taking care of the few zombies Chris went to work on the controls and got the water lowered. As soon as they went down the ladder, new enemies attacked that were small, but deadly snakes. The enemies were dealt with quickly and soon everyone made it to some kind of lift. It took them down to a lower level. Once the few zombies here had been killed they could see there was a choice to make. "There are two ways," Jill stated. "Which one do we take?"

Nicholas and Liru sniffed the air. "The one on the right doesn't seem so foul as the one on the left," the male werewolf commented. "I think it'll be the easier of the two."

He led the way, which went to a ladder which everyone climbed down. Looking around the group could see they were in some kind of cave with lights, pipes, and support beams. After taking a couple more turns, some amphibian like enemies came out and were quickly shot down. They then went through a door but had hardly gone forward when everyone heard a rumbling, crunching sound heading towards them. "That sound; what is it?" Pachira asked and got behind Napoleon.

"I just really hope it's not what I think it is," Logan commented. It turned out to be a huge boulder.

"Yep, we're fucked," the wizard said. He was pushed out of the way by Uma as the rest moved to avoid the rock. It crashed into the wall, creating dust and shards from it to fly through the air.

"That was too close," Jill said when the air was clear.

The group then went through a door where they found a bunch of webs and spider like enemies. All these things were taken out. Then, by using some crates, everyone was able to climb out. Looking around, showed it was a different place. "Where are we?" Jill asked.

"Looks like we ended up in another building," Chris commented.

"I don't remember this last time I was here," Nicholas said.

They all made their way forward slowly until a ladder was reached. One by one they went down it and found themselves in a lower level. A few more enemies were beaten here and then water was reached. It was only knee high so everyone could keep going. It was then through a door and they found themselves in a huge open area with more water. "A water tank?!" Chris asked.

"What's it doing down here?" Uma wondered.

"Wait, there's something in here!" Liru pointed as she noticed a fin. A quick look showed there was an infected shark in here.

"Look out!" Nicholas yelled. "It's coming right at us!"

The monster lunged at the male and he rolled out of the way and delivered a powerful blow with his katana and fist. The enemy retreated. It then came after the females who all ran away from it. It was obvious that an electrical attack wouldn't be a good idea so the group quickly went through another door into a room that was also flooded but had broken computers and monitors. Huge roots were descending into the area. The group slowly walked in, unaware of some vines that slowly came from the celling. Everyone suddenly noticed some liquid drop and looked up to see the threat. The vines lashed out and grabbed them, pulling them up to some other level. It was bit before the males and females were able to move. They could see stairs but hear the sound of something. Looking up showed the source of the vines; a plant with more moving around, some spraying some kind of pollen into the air. The top part looked like some kind of weird brain.

"What is that thing?!" Pachira asked as everyone fired at this new threat.

"Some kind of plant!" Napoleon replied. "I doubt fire will work on it!" That was mainly to Uma and Logan in case the two were thinking about using those kinds of spells.

The top part of the thing opened up, releasing balls of pollen that were shot down. "It's too big," Jill said. "There must be something we can do!"

The group went for the stairs. "Aim for that flower right there!" Nicholas shouted while pointing. A few shots made contact before the plant lashed out with its vines, wrapping up everyone. They were able to break free. And then the whole thing repeated itself.

"This is too simple!" Liru replied as the same pattern was done again.

"It's just a plant!" Cosmo commented. "It really doesn't have an intelligence!"

Working together, it didn't take much to bring this enemy down which parts falling off and the rest withering away to nothing. It was after this that the group found a door were they stumbled upon a hidden, underground research facility. There was no doubt Desker was here. They carefully descended down into the darkness, not knowing what lurked below. "Something big was going down here," Chris said.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Jill commented.

"It looks like that other one we went to months ago," Nicholas pointed out to the other monsters.

The zombies began to appear and they were taken out. A ladder was reached and everyone climbed down. It was then through some double doors and more enemies. "Is this where everyone is?" Chris asked.

"I'm sure of it!" Jill replied. "Let's hurry!"

The path then had them going down some stairs while killing even more zombies. There was an elevator was then reached but the power was out and the switch had to be found. That required them to go down a different hallway and defeat and enemy that stood in their way. Soon they had arrived. "This is it," Aiko pointed out.

"Let's get it up and running!" Cosmo stated.

The two androids worked at it and quickly had the elevator working. Then it was back to it along with killing more enemies. They made it and were just about to enter when a voice came out, one they didn't think they would hear. "You guys!"

They looked to see another male but one wearing a red vest, somewhat armed and a white shirt underneath. It was a member of the team that had been with them in the forest but had gotten separated from. "Barry!" Jill stated.

"You could have at least waited up for me, you know."

"Where the hell have you been?" Nicholas asked.

"Trying to get to you," Barry answered. "Getting separated in the forest, I had to find another way in."

"Well we've got another person to help fight," Liru pointed out.

"She's right, let's go," Chris said.

They all got into the elevator and rode down. It was then a short walk to a door that had the word biohazard on it. The group went in. They found themselves in some kind of lab that had tanks. Inside these things was some kind of liquid and masses that had no identifiable shape. With caution, everyone moved to a desk that had some kind of clipboard with papers. Nicholas picked it up, seeing it was a description for a Titan. "Damn it," he growled. "Not another of these things."

They all then look up after the male werewolf had put this in a pocket on his body. They saw the leader of their group at the end of the lab, typing away at a computer. "Desker!" Chris called out as they approached.

"So you've come. Chris and Nicholas you make me proud. But of course I'd expect it from one of my men and a werewolf like you."

Suddenly the sound of a gun being cocked could be heard. Everyone looked to see Barry had two guns pointed at the backs of their heads. "Thank you Barry," Desker replied.

"Well, what do you know?" Jill commented with a glare.

"Oh, don't blame Barry for everything even that boulder that was rolled that tried to kill you in that tunnel. I hear that his better half and two lovely daughters will be in danger if he doesn't do everything I tell him to."

"Desker, you're pathetic."

The said male then cocked his own gun at the group. "Well you shouldn't worry too much dear. You'll be free from all this anyway."

"Since when, Desker?" Nicholas snarled.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Since when have they been slipping you a paycheck traitor?!"

"I think you're a bit confused," Desker replied and got closer. "I've always been with Rindella."

"Why eliminate F.I.L.E.S.?" Liru asked with her teeth barred.

"Believe it or not, that's Rindella's intention.

"You're just a slave of Rindella!" Chris shot back.

"Smart guy. But the things you've mentioned are nothing. Tonight was an excellent night for collecting data on Rindella's biological weaponry and its performance against trained flesh-and-blood combatants. Especially since you Nicholas and those others from the Nether World infiltrated so long ago and I saw you come in here."

"Wait… You mean with Marcus?!" Napoleon asked.

"That man had nothing to do with tonight. But after seeing how you guys were so able to easily wipe out Rindella's weaponry I knew you had to be eliminated like all the F.I.L.E.S. members from months ago and tonight. They were Rindella's- No, rather, my little piggies. The D-Virus has leaked polluting this whole place. And unfortunately I had to give up my lovely members of F.I.L.E.S."

"You killed them with your own dirty hands!" Nicholas snapped. "You son of a bitch!"

"Don't move!" Desker stated when seeing the male twitch to move. "I don't think you want to die just yet. Barry, go up on the ground and wait there." They rest watched him leave out of the corner of their eyes. "You gotta love Barry. He must really be afraid of Rindella."

"You and Rindella took his family!" Pachira growled.

"Well I used some carrots and sticks to cow him. But it had nothing to do with Rindella. I just used Barry for my personal interests. Now then, I think it's time to show and tell." The enemy turned to a tank and there was another Titan in it. Suddenly the heart mass on the chest began to beat. "It's magnificent." The liquid inside the tank began to drain.

"Desker, you've become senile," Chris said.

"You know, I hate goodbyes." The enemy moved but was suddenly shot. It was Barry who had done it.

"Forgive me," he stated.

"No, you're not to blame," Jill insisted. "It's Rindella and Desker."

"Even if it meant my family… I couldn't bear turning my back on my friends again."

Desker suddenly stirred and rose up, clutching where he had been shot just as the Titan shattered the tank it was in and stepped out. The enemy let out a laugh. "All of you together in hell…"

Suddenly the Titan lashed out at the weakened male, stabbing him with the huge claw on the left hand. The guy was tossed to the side and looked dead. Then a female mechanical voice came out on a loud speaker. "Emergency. The self-destruct system has been activated. All personal must evacuate immediately." The Titan turned to the group while Nicholas and Liru transformed. The enemy flexed the left hand and charged, trying to get the group. They were able to dodge the attack.

"No!" Chris said as everyone fired. "How could they keep something like that here!?"

"I can't believe it," Jill stated.

"Damn!" Nicholas growled. "I didn't think I'd be fighting off one of these again!"

They kept it up and the enemy couldn't take it at all. It fell to the ground, not moving. "Come on, let's get out of here!" Logan commented. "This thing will get caught in the blast for sure!"

Before that Nicholas picked up some notes about the virus, which had a few more notes that were new. They were from Dirkin but also mentioned something about a person named Alexia. It was then out the door with the alarm blaring. Enemies stood in the way but all were killed. One elevator ride latter and they were quickly out. Then they heard a male on their communicators. "This is Brad. If there's anyone alive, contact me now."

"Brad!" Jill stated.

"I'm at the heliport, but I'm running out of fuel. This is your last chance! Is anyone out there!?"

"The heliport…. This way!" Chris commented.

The group ran for it, killing anything that stood in their way. They came across another elevator and rode it up. But halfway there was an explosion from somewhere that everyone felt. "What the?!" Nicholas asked.

The humans and monsters made it outside. Before they could take a look around, the Titan came up through a hole it had made. It turned its head and roared. "Persistent one, isn't he?!" Logan asked.

"We didn't come this far to die now," Cosmo pointed out. The fight was on.

The Titan tried everything from stabbing, lunging, and punches. Everyone just kept moving while firing or in the case of Nicholas stab at the enemy when it got close. A bit of this showed the thing was being wounded. Then the group was contacted again. "You guys! Are you okay?!" It was Brad. "It's too windy, it's hard to get any closer! Hold on!'

"Just hold it out for a bit longer!" Napoleon stated. The fighting continued but then a bit latter Brad contacted the team and dropped a rocket launcher to where they were.

"Use this! Kill that thing, whatever is!" Chris took the weapon and fired at the Titan, killing it for good. The helicopter came down and landed. Everyone was soon inside it and the vehicle was up and away. The sun was beginning to rise at the same time. Everyone watched as the mansion exploded in a burst of fire, stone, and wood. Jill just laid her head on Chris as did the other females with their guys. Barry just sat with his head back. Another part of Rindella had been dealt with. Little did anyone know just how soon the nightmare would return.


	16. Chapter 16

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 16: The New Titan

Despite the success at the mansion, everyone would end up going separate ways. Chris headed to Europe to look more into Rindella since apparently their main headquarters was located there. Barry was going back to Canada to relocate his family. That meant Jill was staying behind in the town that was near the mansion. Nicholas and the rest of the monsters returned to Japan for a brief time to prepare and recover. By the time the decisions had been made the place had been infected by the D-Virus. And it didn't take long for nearly everyone to be infected. A month was all it took for this to happen. Rindella, under the guise of helping the hapless citizens, sent in their private military, the U.B.C.S. security force. Even this new group couldn't contain the horde that had sprung up.

Nicholas and the others with him made it only to find the town had fallen to other monsters. It was just like when helping Claire and Leon. They killed any enemy that stood in the way, trying to find Jill who they had managed to contact. They also while doing so came across another male human who joined up with them. This person had brown hair; the same color as Nicholas's but was shorter. Army cloths and heavy weaponry was also on him. Despite the fact he had the Rindella symbol on him, this male was reliable enough for help and didn't consider the Nether World monsters enemies. After some time fighting off enemies, Liru picked up on Jill's scent and found her trying to fight off more zombies. Just when she was about to be overwhelmed, the others fired and saved her.

"You Ok?!" the male human asked.

"I'm fine," Jill answered and then realized who else was with him.

"Been a bit hasn't it?" Nicholas commented with a smirk. "I see you're doing well. But we'll need to catch up latter."

"That was some good shooting."

"We've gotta get out of here," Logan said and handed the female a gun. "According to our friend here, a rescue chopper is on its way."

Some zombies had to be shot at first before introductions to the new guy could be made. "You're not a civilian like my friends here are you?" he asked Jill. "You've got some moves."

"I'm a member of F.I.L.E.S. The name's Jill Realintine."

"F. .S.! No wonder. So you're pretty elite then."

"And you are?"

"I'm Carlos. Corporal Carlos Rolveira."

"Yeah, he's cool," Cosmo also put in. "He's been using guns since he was a kid. He's a good person to have around."

More enemies were taken down left and right. There were also vehicles on fire that acted as barriers the group were able to get around. It was then under an archway and mutated dogs were taken out. Other zombies showed up. "They've all been killed here to," Aiko whispered.

After busting through some more enemies the group jumped down to a waterway. There were zombies even in here and were taken out. Then it was into a covered section that looked like some under ground way built long ago. Up ahead Uma and Logan had to use fire to take out a couple spiders. "This entire town must be dead," Carlos commented.

They then climbed up a ladder which put them at the entrance of the hotel located here. The path to the right was blocked so the group had to double back and fight their were through the horde here. A bit latter found different paths. "Two ways to go," Jill pointed out.

Nicholas and Liru sniffed and figured the left way was best. Another ladder climb found them up on the highway that led into the city. Enemies were here as well and were shot down. But then when they were all taken care of a truck came out of nowhere, trying to run the group over. They moved out of the way and when looked saw some burning zombies coming form the wreckage of the vehicle. These were quickly killed. Then Carlos led the way to a section that took them to a set of stairs that went down below the highway. Zombies were here and quickly dealt with. The way then went to some underground area that looked to be some kind of underground apartment and storage area. Eventually the group got to another part of the city.

They all continued and the enemies just seemed to keep coming. But then a patch of area was reached and Carlos took the lead again where there weren't enemy zombies. Jill noticed the Rindella symbol on the back of his vest. "Are you… with Rindella?" she asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Yeah," he answered and turned back to look at the female. "We came all the way out here to save you civilians, but the mission went bad the minute we landed."

"Save us?" Jill stated. "It's Rindella's fault that all of this happened in the first place!"

"Hey, hey; easy Chica," Carlos replied. "I'm just a hired gun."

Suddenly a sound made everyone turn to look. They saw some windows smash before cars move up a bit and could see something burrowing beneath them. "Grill him latter; come on!" Nicholas said. The group watched as a huge worm like monster came out of the ground. Thick as an oak tree with spikes, the mouth opened up showing teeth. It let out a roar.

"Another monstrosity huh?" Nicholas stated and transformed along with Liru. Carlos took an intake breath but wasn't all shocked. Not after the stuff he'd seen.

Everyone fired at the worm like enemy, which roared before retreating underground. It then popped up behind them, sending large size chunks of street into the air. Some of the group fired at these things to avoid damage. While that was going on, the rest attacked the enemy. "This one's not tough!" Logan pointed out after firing a blast of fire at the worm.

It didn't take much longer for this thing to be beaten. It roared and came to the ground with a crash. The werewolves went back to their normal form and it was time to keep moving. The group hurried to the police station where a rescue helicopter would arrive. By looking it was obvious the city was doomed to annihilation and there were no discernible routes out of the forsaken town. Luckily Jill had a plan. "I really didn't know Rindella was behind this," Carlos stated as she led the way.

"We have to let the world know what happened," Jill said.

"Yeah, but first we have to make it out of here alive."

"We can go through here to get to the police station."

Her idea was taking a route through an abandoned path underground that was part of a subway system. "This can't be good," Logan grumbled as they had to shoot their way through more zombies. The path eventually led to a very dark area. The humans needed a light to help them see which Cosmo provided. It took some time but they eventually got out and up some stairs. The group even had to deal with some of the monsters that had really long tongues. From there the path continued through more amphibian and roach like enemies. It was at the end of this underground tunnel, the group finally reached the police station. They began to climb to the roof and wait for the arrival of the rescue helicopter. Everyone was unaware that something had been observing their progress.

"What?!" Carlos asked into his communicator. He had been contacted. "Alright. I'll hurry up." The rest looked to him. "Listen… At dawn, this town is going to be destroyed by a missile."

"They're going to wipe out the town," Aiko whispered.

"We don't have much time. Let's move!"

"We have to get to the roof!" Cosmo stated. "This way!"

As to be expected there were enemies in this building. But what came next wasn't expected. The group turned a corner and began to walk down the hallway. Suddenly the sound of cracking could be heard. They looked up and saw something descend and land right in front of them. The thing stood up. It wore black boots and pants. There was some kind of vest on the chest and black gloves covered the arms. The skin was a dull flesh color, only one eye worked. The mouth had no lips so all you saw were the teeth and gums. There were stitches on the top of the head. "F.I.L.E.S.!" it growled.

"What?!" Jill exclaimed.

"I'll cover you!" Carlos stated.

The hulking monster slowly walked towards the group who let loose with their guns. Quickly they saw it wasn't doing anything. "There's gotta be someway to stop him!" Pachira said.

"I don't think it matters how much lead we pump into him!" Napoleon snarled.

"F.I.L.E.S.!" the monster yelled and reached out to grab Jill. She was able to dodge the move.

"We need to find something with a little more kick," Nicholas commented and transformed into his werewolf form. With a shot, he rushed forward, slicing any part of the enemy. After some slashes, he kicked back off of it before the thing could grab him. Carlos threw a grenade after everyone else got back. It went off and the thing went to its knees. While it was down, the male human noticed some bags of explosives. He fired at them, causing a huge explosion. Everyone was able to move out of harm's way.

"Hey!" he stated as the group left the scene. "What is that thing!?"

"I don't know," Nicholas commented.

"It looks like it's after you guys."

"Lucky us," Liru grumbled.

"Was that a zombie?"

"No," Nicholas answered. "That seemed to be a Titan. A new one from the looks of things. I've never seen one like it. They're far stronger than zombies; they're like massive, walking tanks. It's best if we stay clear of it for now."

The group then went forward, blasting any enemy that stood in their way. The path then took them outside. They began to climb some stairs but then had to shoot down a few infected crows. Carlos then turned and noticed the same Titan from before at the top. "Him again! You don't know when to stop!"

The enemy slowly came down the stairs. "Come on!" Jill ordered and led the way back into the station.

"You ought to be more careful on who you date," the male human joked to the female human.

"This is no time for jokes!" Nicholas snarled at him. It was then around another corner they came across one of the monsters who had long tongues. It was dealt with quickly. More zombies then appeared and were shot down. They went down a path that had more enemies, eventually heading to the basement area of the building. But before they could catch their breath a familiar roar was heard.

"F.I.l.E.S.!"

"Our little friend is back!" Logan stated as they saw the shadow of the Titan.

"There's a room!" Uma pointed out. "Let's hide there."

Once again it was dark but that wouldn't be a problem. "We just have to wait for him to pass by," Cosmo said.

Then the group had to kill all the zombies in here. Some of them popped out of drawers. It was then back out into the same hall. Every time they reached a corner Nicholas would take a look before signaling that they could move on. But after reaching an underground parking garage, the Titan was run into again.

"It's him!" Napoleon snarled. "This guy won't stop! Gotta admire his determination."

After a bit of firing Liru led the group through a vent she found. Everyone was able to squeeze through it. In a bit they were back outside again. "You seem to know your way around," Carlos commented.

"Not really; I just smelled the fresh air outside," the female werewolf replied.

The group then heard running and turned to kill some zombie gods. It was then up some stairs and through more enemies. They then made inside again but in a different part of the police station. "Let's get to the roof!" Carlos stated.

Suddenly some amphibian like enemies descended from above and were taken care of. "What is the U.B.C.S. thinking with that missile?" Jill asked.

"I'm too far down on the chain of command," the male human said. "They wouldn't tell a hired gun about something like this."

"I can't believe they're going to destroy the entire town."

"It must be serious if it has come to that. They must have a secret they want to keep hidden."

"A secret?" Aiko asked.

"I don't know and I don't care what it is. I don't even care about the money I was promised. I just know we need to hurry up and get the hell out of this place."

The group climbed up to the second floor. Before they could reach the path to the roof they looked down and saw the Titan. "He's got a rocket launcher!" Jill exclaimed.

"You gotta be fucking kidding!" Nicholas snarled. The enemy raised its weapon up.

"This guy's carrying trouble," Carlos grumbled as he fired at the rocket launcher just as one was launched. The missile exploded, causing some damage. The monster staggered but then rose back up.

"One more shot should do it," Cosmo pointed out and fired this time. The weapon was destroyed and the explosion caused the thing to stagger to its knees.

"It looks like that did the trick," Pachira said, seeing the monster not moving.

"Even he couldn't survive that," Napoleon pointed out.

"I don't know…" Nicholas responded but then shrugged. From there they fought their way through every enemy that was in the way. Then after some minutes the group made it to the roof. Scanning showed the helicopter wasn't here yet. They then turned and saw the Titan again.

"He survived that!?" Carlos exclaimed as everyone fired.

"F.I.l.E.S.!" the monster roared, trying to grab Jill. She was able to move out of the reach of the enemy. She noticed some barrels that had the exploding kind of material in them.

"Aim for those barrels!" the female stated. The group did and set them off in a huge explosion. When it cleared they saw the monster had survived. But the vest had been destroyed. The Titan went to one knee and began to twitch. Some tentacles came out of the body as the upper part began to twist and distort.

"No way!" Carlos stated. "How is that possible!?"

"That's a Titan for you," Nicholas said. "They have the ability to do that." He and Liru growled and then transformed to their full werewolf forms.

"I had the feeling it wouldn't be that easy," Jill commented. "Alright, you want me? Come and get me!"

The Titan grabbed her with one of its tentacles, pulling her in. The human fired at the head while Nicholas slashed at the body from behind with his katana. Liru used her claws while everyone else fired. The monster dropped Jill and stumbled a step back, clearly damaged. It then jumped up to the part of the building that was above the group. It then ran around the primeter to avoid the shots. Then the Titan sent its tentacles down to attack from below. Everyone fired at the mounds that could be seen to stop their advancement. When that happened it jumped up high and came down trying to impale a few on the tentacles. The targets moved and all the monster got was the ground. It became stuck for a few seconds. Everyone opened fire as it came back up.

Working together it didn't take much longer to put this thing down for good. After the last shot, the group saw it stumble and fall off the roof. They knew the missile would incinerate it if the Titan had survived. It was then their helicopter ride arrived. The couples held onto the one they loved while Jill looked out the window. She then saw it.

"There it is," she said while pointing.

They saw it fly pass. "All those people," Carlos commented with a sigh. What none of them noticed was a second helicopter, carrying cargo of some kind and what this would eventually lead to. They saw the blast and the city wiped from the map. However, not everything disappeared with the town's annihilation. The nightmare would still continue for some time. But there was a bit of good news. Carlos decided to help everyone fight against this threat however he could. And in the meantime Claire and Leon made contact with those from the netherworld again. It was something important meaning they had to go help them.


	17. Chapter 17

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 17: Island Prison

Claire had been trying to find her brother again since he had somehow gone missing. Jill wasn't in any state to find him after the incident back in the city. While Carlos began to work with Leon, he told those from the netherworld that the sibling had been captured while trying to find her brother. She had gotten shipped off to a prison on an island. The monsters were quickly headed there to pick her up. On the way they read up on the owner, which lead to some interesting stuff; including a name that had been found by Nicholas back at the mansion when it was still standing on a file.

The warden was tied to a family. They were aristocrats, entitled and sustained by a greed for power. Having been involved in the foundation of Rindella, the Rashford family had also independently performed research on a different virus called the Leronica virus. However, fifteen years ago, Alexander Rashford, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. To make things worse, Alexander's daughter, Alexia, the same one found on that file and a child prodigy who played a key role in the research, died at a young age. Her untimely demise brought an end to the Leronica project and the Rindella files show that all research was apparently lost. The Rashord lineage gradually lost its power to the corrupt hands of the Rindella Corporation. Alexia's brother, Alfred was demoted to a mere supervisor and he was sent to command a private detention facility on an isolated island in the southern seas alone. The same one the group was heading towards.

However upon arriving, they discovered they were walking into a war zone. Bombers were attacking the island. And with that came trouble; zombies and other BOWs were set loose. The group wasn't going to stop because of this and made their way in. They did so just in time to see a young man who was human running for his life and stop to catch his breath. He had one earring on the left ear and a hairstyle similar to Leon's only darker in color. His outfit contested of a collar, and a blue over shirt with a yellow one underneath. "Damn it!" he stated. "Which way?"

Suddenly a familiar female appeared and cocked her gun behind his head. The male raised his hands in the air. "Wait! I wasn't trying to escape. I just… The alarm sounded and the door unlocked. I thought… that I…"

"Rockfort Prison, detainee 267," the female said, reading this off the back of his jail shirt. It was Claire. "I guess you're not with Rindella then, aren't you? I'm Claire Limefeild."

"Damn, girl," the male human said and began to turn to face her. "You scared me."

"Eyes forward," she stated and cocked her gun again to make him turn the other way. "So, what's your name?"

"My name's Steve," he answered. This time he was allowed to turn and face Claire. "You don't look like one of them. They get you to?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"I can see you haven't lost any of your touch," Nicholas finally spoke up. The humans jumped and looked to see the netherworld monsters appear from their hiding place. "So, how's it going?"

Claire smiled and went over to fist bump the males and hug the females. "It's good to see you again."

"A rescue party?" Steve asked.

"Mainly to get her, but you're free to come with us," the male werewolf stated with a shrug.

"What's happening on this island?"

"Someone's attacked… Caused a biohazard."

"Biohazard?" the male human asked.

"There's no time to explain everything," Claire pointed out. "Let's just get out of here."

"Well, feel free to leave," Steve replied. "No one's stopping you." Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted a zombie. The guy just fired and got it right through the head.

"What the…?!" he yelped. Suddenly another one appeared. "What the hell's going on here?!" More began to show. "Why are they after us?!"

"Look… you got two choices here, kill or be killed," Claire ordered and fired. "Your call."

Suddenly more enemies began to erupt from the ground. Now the others could see they had glowing orange spots. These zombies were different. "It'd be nice to have another option, but.. Oh, well!" Steve stated.

More began to show up. "Damn!" Logan said. "How many are there?!"

"Over here!" Claire ordered. The group went to a different section and the female human slammed the door that led to it shut. She then took a look. "This must be a detention facility."

"Yeah," Steve replied. "This is where I was locked up."

"Anyone else in here with you?" Uma asked.

"Yeah. I broke free right after all this happened. I've no idea what caused this."

"Look, there's some information I need to find out," said Claire. "Were there any computers around here?"

"They're three," Steve responded. "The guards had. Only used them for games… Oh, and porn, too."

The other males gave him a look while the female human was unfazed. "Maybe I'll be able to find out what happened to Chris…"

"Well, I guess it's not your kind of humor."

"Wait, where are you going?" Napoleon asked as Steve began to walk away.

"Claire wants to use the computer, right? Follow me."

They did so but then the male human had to kill a zombie that crawled from a ventilation shaft. Then to their shock, they heard something, then saw the dead enemy being taken, and a pool a blood form. "Something's under the building!" Claire stated.

"What else are we gonna be dealing with?!" Steve asked.

"Let's get inside!" Liru said.

They opened the door and went in. The place was a mess with a couple of dead bodies in what appeared to be the eatery. There was blood on one of the tables. "I know it's a mess, but feel free to make yourself at home," Steve commented.

"Oh, god…" Claire whispered. "What happened here?:

"Wish I knew. I took off without looking back." He then spotted the computers behind a wall made of chain link fence. "There. I hope it still works." The guy walked over to the door and opened it.

"What was that?!" Aiko suddenly asked. Everyone looked to see the female android looking at another door.

"I think it was just the wind. Look, what are you trying to find out anyway Claire?"

"Uh… that's not wind," Cosmo pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, but…" Steve replied. Claire began to walk to the door. "Hey! Great, now I gotta deal with this girls power trip on top of everything else."

"Stop you're bitching and let's look," Nicholas growled. The male werewolf opened the door and the group could see this was the sleeping area. And it was a wreck with dead bodies and blood on the bunk beds.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Napoleon said as they made it to a window.

"We should probably get back," Pachira commented. She then jumped upon seeing a zombie at the window. "So that's what been making the noise."

Suddenly the zombies in the room rose up, trapping the group. They fought their way out and even those that had appeared in the eatery. Now the computer could be used. Claire went to it and began to type the information while bent over since there was no chair. "Looks like my brother was never even here," she said. "Rindella probably doesn't know where he is, either."

"What did he do?" Steve asked. "Why are they after him?" Nicholas looked and could see the male's eyes were checking Claire bent over like this and smirked. The werewolf had done so before with Liru.

"I don't know…" the female human responded and began to turn. The other one quickly pretended to be more interesting in twirling his gun so as not to get caught. "But he's been missing for three months." Claire turned back to the screen allowing Steve to look again. "I was in Paris looking for him. I broke into one of Rindella's labs. But I got caught."

"And you were sent here."

"What about you? What's your story?"

"It's dumb," Steve responded with a sigh. "you don't wanna know."

"Just tell me!" Claire said with amusement in her voice.

"I didn't even do anything. Some other jackass screwed up. And landed the two of us in here."

A beep then sounded on the computer and Claire took a look. "So we're in the Southern Hemisphere…."

"Yeah," Nicholas finally commented. "So you don't know much about this place, do you?" The guy went on to explain about it and Alfred. There was even a picture of him in the room.

"That's not all," Steve pointed out. "Rumor has it, he went mad from loneliness."

"But why would anyone wanna bomb this place?" Claire asked. She then focused on the computer. "Anyway, I've got to contact Leon. He'll come for us."

Right as soon as this was finished, more zombies began to show up. "Aw shit!" Nicholas shouted and everyone fired.

"Let's head for the back door!" Claire suggested.

"We don't no where it leads!" Logan pointed out. Everyone still followed Steve outside.

"I guess they stopped following us," he said when looking showed none of the enemy was. Suddenly zombie dogs came out and were shot. "Looks like it wasn't just humans who were turned!"

Now they had to fight their way through some more monsters. Then they were back to where they had started. "We can't go straight," Claire stated. "Nothing but the solitary cell down that way."

"Then we'll need to go this way," Cosmo commented and took down another zombie.

"We don't have time!" Aiko stated. "They're closing in!"

"Not for long!" Pachira said and got the way open. She slammed the door shut behind after everyone got through. The group could see a bridge that went to another part.

"That must be our way out of here," Uma commented.

"Let's find out," Logan agreed. Suddenly everyone heard a woman's voice singing. They even saw a figure in the distance. From the movements, this person was the one doing it. When it was finished, she began to walk away.

"Wait!" Claire called after her and was stopped by Steve from following.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked. "She must be out of her mind singing a lullaby at a time like this."

"That's exactly why I can't leave her out here all alone."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," the male human groaned. "Me and the others should've just left you alone, too."

More zombies were then shot down. They began to cross but then a sound made them stop. "Is that a bird?" Aiko asked.

"No, the sound's not right," Nicholas replied. "Sounds more like-" Suddenly an explosion happened at one of the ventilation systems. Then through a hole thousands of bats flew out to attack the group. "Shit! Run!" the male werewolf yelled. Logan and Uma whipped out their wands and fired lighting at the enemy. That seemed to do the trick and everyone ran for some stairs. The path led them to a different section on the island. By this point it was raining.

"That woman…" Liru said. "I wonder where she went."

"I won't be surprised if we find her dead body," Napoleon commented.

"Let's go straight," Steve suggested. "Hopefully, this will lead us off the island."

Suddenly the sound of bats was heard. "Our little friends are back!" Logan stated.

"Are they following us or what?!" the male vampire in the group asked.

Suddenly zombies also appeared behind them. "Just follow my lead!" Steve ordered.

They all ran for it but the bats came back in to attack. Logan and Uma shot more lighting and this time the male human saw it. "What the-?!" he began to ask but was then distracted by when more zombies came out. Nicholas sliced at the throats, putting them down with his katana.

"Keep moving!" the male werewolf growled. The rain was really beginning to come down. Soon the path led to a building.

"I wonder what this is for?" Claire asked. They all ran in and slammed the door shut. They looked and it had the appearance of another mansion.

"is this that woman's house?" Steve asked.

"Not another of these," Logan groaned.

Uma went over to try a door on the first floor. "It's locked," she stated. Liru let out a yelp as suddenly some of the bodies in here came up to attack. They were quickly shot down.

"Aren't there any other normal human beings left?!" the male human in the group asked.

"How are we going to find her with so many of these things coming at us?!" Claire stated.

They then went to the stairs and heard a noise. "Footsteps?" Nicholas wondered out loud and then raised his voice. "Is someone there?" There was no answer.

They then climbed up the stairs and found a picture, a huge one showing a woman in a purple dress wand white gloves. "That's her," Steve said. "The one we saw."

"Alexia Rashord," Claire stated as she read the plate below the painting.

"Wait… She was part of the Rashord family?"

"It says here she died some time ago…"

"That woman we saw couldn't be her," Nicholas commented. "She should be long dead."

Suddenly creepy female laughter was heard, and everyone turned but didn't see who did it. "Feels like we're walking into a trap…" Cosmo said.

They went to a door on the left side and found themselves in some kind of room that seemed to be a parlor room. Aiko went over to one piece in the room. "What is this?" she asked.

"It's an antique music box," Claire explained. Nicholas in the meantime went to the table here and noticed the teapot, cups, and saucers. There was tea in them and steaming.

"They're still warm," the male werewolf stated. "Something's not right about this."

Suddenly a protector turned on, throwing up an image on one of the walls. It fettered two children; clearly a younger Alfred and Alexis. It then turned to an image of the young male pulling off the wings of a butterfly in a cruel fashion. Albert then dropped the dead wingless insect in an area of ants that he and his sister watch be eaten. "I think we've seen enough to know that this isn't a good idea,' said Steve.

"Yeah, I think it's time to go," Claire agreed. Cosmo led the way out and a couple zombies that had been corpses before were there to attack. The male android killed them with two quick punches. The group went back down the stairs and approached the door that would lead out. Before they could Steve noticed a red line pointed at the back of the female human's head. The one belonging to a snipe riffle.

"Look out!" he shouted and moved her out of harms way just as the shot went off.

The group went behind some pillars and looked. At the tops of the stairs stood a young man with short pale blonde hair and a red military like suit. In his hands was the sniper riffle. "I am Alfred Rashford," he said loud and clear. "Son of Alexander Rashord!"

"That's him," Steve pointed out.

"Why have you come to disturb us?! Was is you?! Was it you who spread that wretched virus across my island?!"

"That's got nothing to do with us!" Claire answered back. "Look, we all need to get outta here right now! OK?!"

Albert let out a laugh; one that had madness in it. "Fools…" he said. "She's only just now returned to me." He stepped back to look at Alexis's picture and fell down two steps before catching himself. "Why would I want to leave?!"

"Who? You mean… Alexia?" Claire asked.

"She always did enjoy playing games. And she has come up with the most splendid game for us to play!"

"Games…?" Steve asked weakly.

"This guy's clearly mad," Nicholas growled. Liru who was next to him nodded in agreement.

"If you survive our challenge… I will personally present you with a getaway plane as your prize!" Albert held up a key that went to it before putting it in his pocket. "Ready?! Let the game begin!" He cocked his weapon at the group.

"Great, another phyco," Napoleon grumbled.

"Come on, run! Run, my little rats!"

The enemy fired. "We're sitting ducks just hiding here like this!" Pachira pointed out.

"He's not stopping!" Logan stated. "We need to fire back!"

Claire and Steve slowly crept forward. The two had hardly gotten near the stairs when the enemy fired. The humans were able to dodge the bullet. Albert let out a mad laugh. "Don't you love this game?!" In that one second he was open and Nicholas in the back fired to make the mad man dodge. His tone took on a mocking, baby tone. "What's the matter, my little rats? Aren't you having fun?!"

"Who are you calling a rat?!" Steve yelled back.

"Steve!" Claire stated.

"I'm not gonna die here!"

"None of us are!" Liru commented. "Who said anything about that?!"

"She's right, this is nothing compared to what we've been through," Aiko agreed.

Albert jumped out and laughed, but then got hit by a bullet. It only grazed him. "You're doing so well, my little rats!" The enemy then disappeared.

"You son of a… stop!" Steve shouted. He ran up the stairs with the rest close behind. Their opponent was gone. Suddenly Liru and Aiko had to take down two zombies that had appeared from behind. Suddenly a voice on an announcement came on; it was Albert.

"The game must go on! Come to the Training Field for you next challenge! If you win, I'll let you leave the island."

"The training field?" the male human in the group asked. "You mean that place…"

"You can't trust him," Uma said. "This is obviously a trap."

"I know… But I don't think we have much choice here." When some looked unconvinced Steve continued. "We either stay here and possible die, or catch him and find out how to get off this island. It's one or the other…"

"Alright…" Claire agreed. "Let's get this over with."

"Now you're talkin.' I'm no rat. And I'm gonna make that very clear to him." The male human lead the way out of the door. It was raining even harder now, but not to the point of being blinding. But the nasty surprise was the group of zombies at the front entry.

"They were waiting for us!" Aiko gasped.

Her boyfriend tossed a grenade. It landed on target and blew up the enemy. "Left! Go back the same way we came!" Steve ordered. More enemies began to come out and were shot down. They went down a different path and the guy pointed out the training field. Suddenly Claire noticed something close by.

"WHAT?!" she asked.

"What the hell is that! That's not a zombie!" Steve stated. It was one of the amphibian like enemies. It came down and Nicholas got it with his katana. Then more zombies and other enemies came out and were all taken out. With them out of the way, it was onto the training field.

"Careful… They could be hiding anywhere," Napoleon pointed out. It had also stopped raining.

"It's too quite," Liru commented. "Nobody seems to be here."

The group then found a door and went through to enter their destination. An announcement came on and it was Albert again. "I am so glad you came! Honestly, I thought that you'd back out! You know how it is, a lot of people are just all talk."

"And by that you're referring to yourself, right?" Steve asked. There was no response. "Yeah, I thought so."

The group slowly went down the hallway, which was dark. Suddenly it became even darker as the dim lights went fully out. "Just stick close to us," Nicholas said as both Claire and the male human turned on the flashlight they had. "But be ready to move if needed. We're not some kids who are afraid of the dark."

"The guy's nuts," the female human stated. "Don't trust him."

"This is just another cheap scare." Suddenly the phones that were to the side rang and the male werewolf shot. "I'm getting to the point of having enough."

They then heard the sound of scurrying and turned to see huge spiders, mutated black widows in the way. "They're huge!" Aiko cried with disgust. These enemies were taken down quickly.

"These things should be in the Book of World Records!" Steve said, trying to lighten the mood since he was getting over his freight.

It was then down a hallway. More zombies appeared and were all killed. The group was quickly through a door and into an outside area. There were metal containers, and a stonewall surrounding the place. The rain had stopped as well. "The wind's so strong here!" Claire stated.

Suddenly everyone noticed the laser for a sniper riffle. "It's him!" Uma cried out and they all took cover.

The enemy then spoke up. "Welcome to the training grounds!" He then fired. "It's just no fun if you hide! Come on out! I promise not to kill you… just yet!"

"Cover me!" Cosmo told Uma.

"Alright!" The male android jumped out to fire causing Albert to take cover.

"This guy's begging to get his ass kicked!" Steve stated. He began to climb up the stairs that would take him to where the enemy was. Suddenly he saw something being thrown by Albert.

"Shit!" Nicholas cursed as everyone moved to avoid the grenade blast.

"Oh!" Albert taunted. "I'm so afraid!"

"I'm not letting you get away!" the male human yelled and ran up the stairs. The enemy wasn't there.

"Steve, calm down," Claire told him. "You need to focus!"

"I got it! You don't have to tell me."

The group then went through the door in front of them and took out some more enemies. They then started appearing, forcing everyone to head to the next room. This place was made of steel walls and supports. "What the hell is this place?" Liru asked.

"It must be the training facility," Logan said.

"This guy definitely needs his head examined," Napoleon stated. That was because the walls had graffiti on them giving a bit of directions but also the kind to make it seem like this was a fun place. Suddenly Albert's voice came onto the speakers, mocking Claire's voice.

"Steve, calm down. You need to focus!" His voice went back to normal. "Or else you'll wind up dead!"

"This guy has problems," Pachira said with a shudder.

"That's for sure," Nicholas agreed. "Don't let him provoke you."

"How rude?!" Albert said with a scoff. "I was merely trying to be kind."

The group walked down some stairs to get to the level of the training facility. Before they could continue, a sound was heard. Looking up something from above jumped down to their level. The creature was a strange green and flesh like color combined into one. It only had one long muscled arm. "Son of a bitch!" Steve yelped. "They just jeep on comin'!"

The enemy roared and reached out to grab the male human but everyone fired, causing it to back off. The thing tried to protect its head but the shots were too much. A few second latter of firing, it was down for the count. "That's how we do it!" Cosmo said giving a high five to Napoleon.

"Princess Claire, Prince Steve here shall protect you from all evil spirits!" Steve told the female human.

"Yeah, right…" she responded with amusement but sarcasm at the same time. The neither world monsters all got grins. "By the way, thanks."

She led the way through the door here and everyone stepped out to see there wasn't anything. That is until another of the same creature from before came out and was taken care of. "Are you done or you got some more?!" Steve asked out loud for Albert to hear.

"More for my little rat?" the enemy stated on the speakers. "Well, as you wish!" The floor began to move down like an elevator.

"This island is fucked up," Nicholas growled. "We definitely have got to get out of here!"

The platform stopped and this time it was Liru who led the way through the next door. The group looked and saw a sign that said Kill House on a wooden board. The walls seemed to also be made of the stuff. "What is this place?" she asked.

"It sure doesn't look like a training field to me…" Steve said.

"This is insane," Claire commented.

"Insane?" Albert stated on the speakers. "Please! War knowns no sanity. The soldiers are trained here to kill, to slaughter. To survive through whatever madness they witness. And now it's your turn my little lab rats! Of course, if you've had enough, you can end it right here. All you have to do… is die!" He let out a mad laugh. The group went forward into the first section. "Well, let's start with a very simple game, shall we? Whatever pops out, you shoot! Just don't leave anything behind, OK!?"

"A target!" Cosmo stated just as the first popped out. The male android fired with superb accuracy. They continued and a couple more targets were shot before some zombies showed up. These things were taken care of quickly. Then a split in the path happened and the left was chosen. More enemies were killed quickly. Then it was up a ladder while avoiding a couple barrels that came crashing down.

"How can he toy with people like this?!" Napoleon snarled.

"I'm not going to die here!" Claire stated.

"When the hell is Alfred gonna show his ugly face?" Steve asked.

Another target then came up and a few more enemies that were taken care of. "How much longer do we have to put up with this?!" Claire stated.

"It's all up to you, my beloved Claire," came the voice of the enemy on the speakers. A mad laugh then followed.

"God, it make me sick when I hear you say my name," she responded in a tone to match.

"Oh, I am sorry, but I don't have any sickbeds available at the moment!"

The group then took a left. "Just ignore him," Logan said. "He's just looking for attention!"

"What did you just say?!" Albert asked on the speakers. "You're a rat and you have no right to talk to me like that!"

"He's even more immature than I thought," Pachira pointed out with a grin.

"Sounds like we're getting to him," Uma agreed. "All of his victims will be happy to see his miserable face when we make him pay."

The path then came to another ladder after taking out more zombies. The group all climbed down it. More enemies were waiting for them and killed. But it wasn't much farther until they got to the end. However a few more enemies stood in the way including zombie dogs. But they were disposed of easily. "Hey, is that it?!" Nicholas asked. "I was hoping for a challenge."

There was no response and so it was through a door that was an elevator that took them up to a hallway. However it was after going through it that they had to deal with a huge wave of zombies. Only when the last one was killed did Steve finally tell the story he didn't tell before. "He is… was.. my father," the male human stated as he covered up one of the corpses with a tarp.

"What?!" Claire asked. The rest just listened.

"He worked for Rindella… A nobody. Just another face in the crowd… He was a rat, a mole. He tried to leak some data, make some quick cash. But they caught him. And they killed my mother. And then they took me."

"Steve…" Claire whispered and got closer to him.

"It was his fault. He was stupid. He was…"" The male human went quite and then stood up. "Let's go."

The group then went outside and found that it had stopped raining. Then the enemy's voice came on the speakers again. "Such melodrama. So beautiful. The pain and struggle we humans are capable of! But let's not forget the game, shall we?! Your next and final challenge awaits within my mansion!"

"Where you are is where I'm going," Steve shot back. "And when I find you, I'm going to rip you to pieces!"

"Splendid! But first, how about a little brainteaser?! 'The girl and boy, destined to be on, will reveal the way!'"

"'Girl and boy'…. What?!" Claire asked.

"Take you time to think about it." Suddenly the ground shook like something big was coming from below. "Oh I forgot… Before you do that, please allow me to introduce you to my cute little pet…"

"There's something coming… And it's big!" Nicholas growled while drawing his katana. Liru got ready as did all the others. They saw the dirt fly; it was right below the surface, heading towards them.

The tunnel then emerged of the burrowing creature. For one second, there was nothing and then it emerged with a roar. It looked like a modified version of the same worm like enemy that had been faced by those from the nether from before. Only it had more flaps for the mouth and more teeth. "Shall we?" Logan asked.

"You got it!" Napoleon snarled and his fangs grew longer. "Let's tear it apart!"

Nicholas and Liru quickly transformed with a roar. Steve saw this and fell to the ground with a yelp, not expecting these guys to be monsters themselves. Claire quickly went over to him, pulling the male human out of the way. "Come on!" Cosmo yelled.

Those from the nether fired into the things mouth. That seemed to do the trick in terms of damaging it. The enemy then retreated into the ground. "What the hell is that?" Steve asked weakly. "What the hell are you guys?"

"Less talk for right now!" Nicholas said.

The creature then emerged from below. It was trying to keep the group here. Quickly it was back under before a shot could be fired. "Where did it go?" Aiko asked.

"Break out the big one!" the male werewolf told Cosmo.

"You got it!" The male android's right arm turned into some kind of rocket launcher. The creature then emerged with a roar. "You wanna play rough?! Okay! SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!" Cosmo fired and it was a direct hit. The thing's head exploded in a shower of blood and gore. The main body crashed to the ground.

"Is it over?!" Claire asked.

"Yeah, it's dead," Nicholas answered. "His pet is dead and he's next."

"Hold on a sec; you want to tell me what the hell you are?!" Steve stated. He was quickly told everything. After all that the male human had seen, he was forced to believe the story.

Nicholas and Liru led the way back to the mansion from before after turning back to normal. There weren't any enemies yet. "So what did he mean by that riddle?" Uma asked.

"My bet is it's connected to that music box we saw," Steve suggested. He approached the landing.

"Steve!" Claire whispered in an urgent voice.

"You don't see them?!" Her gun was pointed up and the rest looked that way. The bats were back again. Uma and Logan whipped out their wands and shot lighting at the swarm. Even with this there were too many.

"Get inside quick!" Pachira shouted. Everyone ran for it and made it back to the inside landing, slamming the door shut.

The group began to make their way to the room but had to deal with some zombies. Claire then flinched like she thought she heard something but shrugged it off. "Give me a break…" she grumbled.

"You're cute when you're scared," Steve said with a grin.

"Oh shut up," the female human replied with amusement.

"Wait here to?!" Nicholas snarled as an amphibian like enemy came down from above. He got it with his katana. More enemies began to show up and the fighting began. However at one point a couple thought they saw something move, like that of a man. But there wasn't anyone there.

They soon made it to the room. "This is it," Liru commented. They looked and could see a boy on a stick and a few obstacles that stood in the way of the girl that he had to get to. Removing these allowed the two little figures to reunite. When they did the whole music box moved to the side, revealing a secret passage.

"Well that's a very complicated way to open a door," Cosmo said.

"Which means someone really doesn't want anyone to go inside," Nicholas commented.

As soon as the group entered enemies began to pop out. They were all shot down. Soon the path went outside. "Where do you think this leads?" Aiko asked.

"To whatever secrets they don't want us to discover," Steve answered. Everyone went forward but didn't encounter anything. That is until they reached a certain spot and a male voice spoke from somewhere. Not by speaker, but one that was close enough to hear.

"I attacked this island upon hearing the news of an awakening. But it seems it was all a pretense." The group looked frantically but didn't see anyone.

"Steve?!" Claire stated.

"Who is it?!" the said guy asked.

"Though, ironically, I feel you will lead me to the truth, regardless. Chris's little sister and those from the nether world." That last part was said with sinister intent.

"You're nothing more than a coward!" Steve yelled. "Show yourself, damn it!" There was no response.

"The way he talked…" Nicholas said. "Why does it sound familiar? I don't recognize that voice, but it sounds just like someone that almost got us killed…" By that he was referring to Desker.

"He... he mentioned my brother's name," Claire stated.

"I don't like this at all," the male werewolf commented. "Let's just hope this doesn't mean what I think it means."

The group then moved on and took out more zombies. They then reached a door and went through it. There were some stairs but the biggest thing was a huge creepy doll that hung from the celling. "This place looks horrible," Uma said with a shudder. Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulder. More enemies then came out and ere all killed. It was then up the stairs and continuing on. Then they made it to a hallway.

A voice then sounded out. "It's Leronica! The Leronica Virus!" It was the main enemy. "No I can't. I can't remember anymore! My head is ready to explode! Alexia!"

Suddenly a woman's voice was then heard. "Please don't be so hare on yourself, brother. We can still have much fun playing our game."

"You hear that?" Napoleon whispered to the others.

"Yeah," Claire answered. "She is still alive. I thought something was wrong."

"It's time to finish this," Steve commented.

The group made it to the door that led to the room where the voices had been heard. On a signal, they busted in, but saw no one. "Where'd they go?!" Logan asked.

"I can smell him," Nicholas said. He went over to a section and shot it. A ladder came down from the celling. "Here we go… he is up there."

"This place is full of toys," Liru commented. "Why would he need these?"

Everyone climbed up and found themselves in a room that had a merry-go-round in it. "This sure doesn't look like a study," Aiko pointed out. The ride then turned on and began to move. "Looks more like a toy room."

"He's too old for that," Cosmo stated.

"That's far enough," the female voice from before called out. Everyone saw the laser of a riffle pointed at Claire. They looked and saw Alexia with her blonde hair and wearing a purple dress. "So we finally meet, all of you. I am Alexia Rashford. And on behalf of my brother, I will now say goodbye!" Before she could shoot Napoleon did and the female was forced to doge. Doing so caused the hair to come off, showing it was a wig. It was Albert dressed as his sister. He saw his reflection, let out a scream and ran for it through a painting. Steve gave chase but it closed, not opening up.

"Shit!" the male human exclaimed. Claire picked up the plane key they had seen before which was now on the ground. Everyone else gathered around the wig.

"So Alfred was playing two roles all by himself," Nicholas said. "He couldn't bear the fact that his sister was dead."

The group climbed back down and made it to the hallway. But they had hardly begun to get to the airport when Alfred's voice came on some speakers. "How dare you destroy my world!" he snarled. "But you did remind me of one very important thing. I no longer need these toys."

"What now?!" Claire asked.

Suddenly a female voice came on the speakers. "The self-destruct system has been activated. All facilities across the island will be terminated. Please evacuate the premises immediately."

"Terminated?!" Liru stated. "It can't be serious!"

"Play time is over!" Nicholas said. "Time to get out before the place explodes!"

He and his girlfriend led the way. Any enemies that stood in the way were shot down quickly. Soon they were almost back at the beginning of entering the mansion. when the main enemy's voice came back on. "Congratulations! You've activated my doll. That should take care of you!" Alfred let out an evil laugh.

"A doll?!" Uma stated. "We don't have time to play with dolls!" The group made it outside.

"The airport's this way!" said Steve and pointed.

"Are you sure?" Claire asked.

"Trust me!" Suddenly Napoleon saw something coming in from the left.

"Look out!" the male vampire shouted. The human ducked the fist of the enemy that it tried to swing at them. The group looked and to most of their horror, it was another Titan. This one had grey color skin and had no fingers, only hardened stumps for hands.

"Shit!" Steve commented. "Another of his foot soldiers?!"

"Worst than that!" Nicholas yelled. He and Liru transformed and went to town with attacking the Titan's head as the other monsters fired. It wasn't long until the enemy went to its knees. "Run!"

The group did but didn't get far. The enemy jumped up and tried to strike Claire down. The female human was able to roll out of harm's way. Those from the nether attacked furiously and the Titan quickly went down. Without a second thought, the group ran for it towards the airport.

"This is our way off this island!" Steve said as he noticed the plane.

"Wait, something's wrong here," Claire stated as the rest began to board.

"We don't have time, let's go!" The female human hesitated and then followed. None of them noticed the lone figure, the one who had spoken to them before getting into that toy room the enemy had.

"I knew you would lead me to the truth!" In his hands there was a F.I.L.E.S. knife.

The vehicle began to take off. "Okay, now we get the hell off this damn island!" Nicholas commented. Steve was at the controls. He pushed the lever forward along with Claire who had her left hand on top of his right. The plane took to the skies. Everyone let out some cheers and the couples hugged the ones they loved.

Suddenly a female voice came on. "Auto Pilot activated."

"What?!" Liru asked. "What's going on?!"

The group didn't see another plane that Albert was flying. "Thanks to you, my plan is now back on track," he said. "Though you've taken my plane, it will only prove for more entertainment!"

In the group's plane, they felt their vehicle dip down as something landed on it. They looked and saw something trying to climb up the wing. "Some of us need to get to back and check it out!" Logan stated. Napoleon, Pachira, Nicholas, Liru, and Claire quickly made their way to it.

"What is this?" the female vampire asked as she saw a hole had been ripped through the hull to get in. The door leading in and out of the cargo bay was open. The rest then looked and to their shock saw the same Titan from before.

"What is it?!" Steve's voice called out to him.

"That same Titan from before!" Liru snarled. "That big grey guy!"

"What?! That thing was only playing dead?! That's cheating!" The rest of the group came to help.

The enemy raised its fists and let out a roar. The right one then transformed into a hand with long claws. "We have to do something!" Claire said as everyone fired. The enemy just slowly advanced towards them, like it was taunting them.

"Wait, I think we can use that!" Aiko stated and pointed to a crate that was on a set of rails. The button to activate it was on the wall.

"Get him down!" Cosmo ordered. The enemy was lured right by the thing and sent to its knees. Steve hit the button and the crate caught the enemy. It almost knocked the Titan off, but the monster caught it and threw it off the plane.

"Now what?!" Napoleon asked. The monster charged forward and swung at the male vampire. The guy was able to avoid the blow at the claws got another box that was right next to him. It fell apart, revealing a missile.

"We can use that!" Claire stated.

"At this range?!" Cosmo asked. "Well blow ourselves up!"

"We don't have a choice!" Nicholas shouted and struck at the holders that held the weapon. They came off, activating the missile, which hit the Titan. The enemy was able to grab onto it. But it managed to push the monster off the plane and everyone could see the explosion. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the cockpit while Nicholas and Liru transformed back to their normal state. They fell asleep, having been fighting nonstop. But things were about to take a turn for the worst.


	18. Chapter 18

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 18: Arctic Base

The plane on autopilot carrying the group began to descend and made an emergency landing at an unknown facility; a forgotten site. It was just another playground. Luckily nobody was hurt when the vehicle crashed. The group slowly came to. "Are you alright?" Steve asked to Claire.

"Yeah, I'm OK…" she groaned.

Cosmo took a look on one of the panels on the plane. "Latitude 82 degrees 17 minutes south," the male android said. "We're… We're at the South Pole!"

"What?!" some asked but then began to shiver. Logan and Uma casted a spell to protect everyone from the extreme cold and snow.

The group left the plane and Claire looked over the railing right by them. It was a long drop down into the mist. "Guess we're not in the clear yet…" she stated.

"This won't do us much good anymore," Cosmo pointed out when it came to the plane.

"Just what is this place?" Pachira stated. "It doesn't look like anyone's been around for a while."

"Probably another of Rindella's facilities," Napoleon suggested.

"At least we won't freeze to death," Uma pointed out.

"Aw shit!" Logan cursed. "Look!" Everyone else turned and saw zombies begin to pop out. They were all shot down. Steve then led the way around the walkway and found a ladder that would take them down to the next lower level. There were more enemies.

"They just keep coming!" Claire stated after taking another down.

"Do they keep them here?!" Cosmo asked.

"Let's go inside the doors, we might find something," Nicholas suggested. Before they did some kind of scream was heard. It was different than the ones the zombies made. "Did you hear that?!"

"Yeah, and I don't think that's the welcome party," Logan commented.

The group went through the door and there wasn't any light. "It's too dark," Claire said. This wasn't a problem for the nether world monsters with the ruin that helped them see even in this pitch black. The humans had to use their flashlights.

"You wanna go back?" Nicholas stated. "Be my guest." They went across the metal walkway and to a door. The rest of the path was destroyed. "It's a dead end."

"Can we get down there?" Liru asked.

"Let's find out."

"It's locked, we can't get through." The female werewolf had tried the door.

Suddenly both of their ears twitched as they heard something. Then everyone else did. "What?!" Akio asked.

Steve suddenly turned behind and saw a reptilian like enemy that stood on two legs like the amphibian ones. He shot it down quickly. Suddenly more began to show up and were all killed. The group went out the door in a flash only to find more zombies. These were also shot down. It wasn't until the last one was finished that the strange roar was heard again. "What the hell is that?" Claire asked.

"Let's go check," Steve commented.

"Steve?" the female human stated and got real close to him.

"Well it's not the wind, that's for sure. It's OK, I'm right here by your side."

"Yeah, my knight in shining armor, huh?" The monsters from the nether got grins and moved closer to the ones they loved as well. The humans lead the way down a flight of stairs. Then came a hallway that had some kind of growth on it. A couple of zombies were trapped in the stuff that looked like some kind of sticky webs.

"What the hell?" Nicholas asked.

"Looks like some kind of nest… This is not good," Liru said with disgust and a shudder.

Suddenly the sound of flapping wings was heard and everyone whipped around to see a huge mouth like enemy. "What is this thing?!" Steve asked. Uma and Logan whipped out their wands to use fire, burning the monster and nest areas to cinders. They then went through a door that led to an office like area.

"Some peace and quiet…" Aiko whispered. Suddenly the noise was heard again. "Or maybe not."

"It's coming from in there…" Claire said. "What should we do?"

"Get some answers," Nicholas responded. He and Liru led the way. It was a short path that had a grate for the floor that you could look into below. The group looked down and saw a humanoid creature with grey skin and bounded to a chair.

"What is that?" Pachira whispered as everyone could see and hear this was the thing doing the noises. The also observed it struggling against the bindings.

"What's going on? Who is that?" Uma asked.

"Let's get out of here," Logan said. "That scream is enough to drive anyone insane."

They returned to the office and Claire noticed something. "Guys, look at this!" she stated. They gathered around a photo that showed a younger Alexia and Alfred. They were with a man that had to be their father Alexander. The name was on the back of the frame.

"You don't think that thing that was back there and it being so close is…." Liru began but trailed off.

"If it is…." Nicholas said.

"What the hell is going on?!" Steve asked. "Well one thing is clear now."

"Yeah," Claire agreed. "This place is definitely an Rindella Facility."

The group then left and had to take down a few more moths. It was then down the hall and a couple zombies had to be killed. A door was then opened and everyone went to a familiar dark room. "Hey this is the place we saw earlier," Steve pointed out.

There were a number of monsters that were all shot. After maneuvering through the room, the group found themselves in a more open room. "Are we outside?" Uma asked seeing the ice like part of this place.

"How deep is this thing?" Cosmo asked, looking over the edge.

Claire tried the door nearby but it wouldn't open. She then looked and saw another one. The group began to climb some stairs to reach it. Suddenly a noise made everyone look to the left. They saw a bucket used for construction swinging towards them. "Duck!" Claire yelled and everyone did.

Suddenly a familiar voice sounded out. "I'm surprised you've made it this far." It was Alfred. The bucket then moved back to position.

"Fuck you, you crazy bastard!" Steve shouted.

"Game over!"

"You're damn right it is! This ends now!"

"It will soon be time for the Queen's awakening!" Alfred stated.

"The Queen?" Claire repeated.

"You've reached the end of the maze, my little rats!"

Suddenly Cosmo spotted the enemy and shot at the human. "If I have to play one more of his games…" Steve said through gritted teeth.

"How dare you!" Alfred snarled.

"You liked that, didn't you!" Steve had moved and was close to where the enemy was.

"On your left!" Nicholas said. The male human had to dodge the bucket again.

"You should feel honored to die here!" Alfred stated as the thing went back to the original position.

"Damn it!"

The enemy came out again and Napoleon fired. "Yes… it's getting closer!" Alfred said. "I'll see the Queen very soon."

"Shoot the crane!" Claire yelled. Nicholas and Liru came up and fired. They could see the enemy was right underneath. It came crashing down, knocking Alfred off the edge into the pit below. The final thing heard from him was a scream that went silent.

"How you like that?!" Steve commented. "We finally took out the boss!"

"The Queen…" the male werewolf said. "The Queen's awaking… What does that mean?"

"I don't know, the guy was insane," Steve stated.

"Regardless that statement doesn't sound good. Let's hurry."

The group began to make their way out. They also noticed the screaming from before had stopped. After climbing some ladders and fighting through enemies, they made it only to find a snowstorm had whipped up. The spells Uma and Logan had cast made it so the only problem was visibility and not the cold. "We need to find whatever Alfred used to get here," Nicholas said.

Liru then spotted something. "Look!" she stated. "A snowmobile! That's our way outta here!"

The group found a ladder and climbed down it to the snow surface. Before they could take one more step the same roar from before was heard. "What was that?!" Steve asked.

Suddenly the humanoid creature from before sprain from nowhere and landed. The skin was colored Grey. The bindings were around the arms, eyes, and head. But the mouth was still open. A torn coat of some kind covered the legs. There was a red kind of orb where the heart was. Three long appendages were sprouting out of the body. One was where the right arm should be, the second was right below that, and the final one was coming from the mid section. "Isn't that…?" Claire gasped.

"That's the guy we saw in the room!" Nicholas stated. He and Liru transformed and everyone fired.

"How'd he get free?!"

"I don't think he wanted to be alone anymore!" Steve commented.

Blood sprayed everywhere from the shots and the enemy went to the knees. Two of the appendages were used to help hold the body up. The group began to walk away. However something made Cosmo look back. He saw the monster wasn't' there anymore. "It's gone!" the male android said.

The creature came down from above, landing in front of them. It was clear this thing had quite the jumping power. "Aim for that red orb where the heart is!" Napoleon shouted while pointing at the spot.

Everyone fired and once again the enemy went down. "Let's get out of here!" Pachira stated.

They didn't go far when the monster got back up. Steve fired, causing the rest to look and see this. The opponent was flailing the limbs, trying to hit them, but was beaten back. Jumping up, the thing came down, blocking the path. Liru and Nicholas went in with claws, and his katana. They landed direct hits. The enemy roared and jumped up to land on them, but some shots caused it to stop and fall again. This time there was an opportunity.

"Aim for it!" Steve shouted as he went under and fired at the orb. Blood sprayed everywhere as the monster went down on its back. But only for a few moments and then using the extra limbs, rose back up. It roared at the group before the limbs grew sharp slightly curved blades. The thing jumped up and landed on a part of the roof of the base that was nearby.

"I think he could've gotten out a long time ago if he'd tried," Cosmo said.

"Maybe he likes being tied up?" Claire suggested half-heartily.

Suddenly the enemy began to throw barrels at the group who quickly shot these down. The monster jumped up, trying to impale three on the blades, but was stopped again. This time Nicholas went in and shot at the orb, knocking the opponent down. It reared, and stuck with one of the blades at the male werewolf after quickly getting back up. He deflected the blow with his katana. The rest shot at the enemy and it faltered again. "Now!" Uma stated and the group continued towards the snowmobile.

After some steps Claire looked back and saw the opponent crawling by using its limbs like insect legs. It then jumped in front of them and with great strength, brought up a huge chunk of ice and snow to use from the ground. Cosmo fired a grenade from his arm, which exploded right on target. The monster collapsed. "The fuel tank!" Steve said, noticing one right by the monster. "Shoot it!"

Everyone did causing it to explode. The enemy was still down. "Ugh… Now we can't go that way…" Logan commented.

Claire then spotted some cranes in the area that had hooks. She fired at one of them, causing a line to come down. "Brilliant!" Cosmo said. "We can use those to get over!"

"What the hell?!" Logan stated. Everyone else looked to see the enemy had gotten up again and was using its extra limbs to climb a cable nearby. "How can he still be alive?!"

The monster got right in front of the group while hanging from above. Some fired but Steve looked to the side and saw one of the lines that had been shot was still swinging. It had a huge hook at the end. "Grab on!" he stated.

"No… wait…" Claire replied.

"Now!" the male human shouted as the moment came up and grabbed on. The guy went for a ride. "Keep shooting!"

"He's gotta be out of his mind!" Nicholas stated.

After a few swings and shots, the enemy was knocked down. "Let's go!" Steve yelled.

"No wait!" Claire cried. The male human jumped and landed where the monster was with the rest behind him.

"Eat lead you son of a bitch!" He fired everything he had at the orb. Suddenly the creature got up again. Just in time to meet the same hook and line that had been used. It got impaled, right in the weak spot with blood dripping. After some struggling and a couple roars, the enemy went still.

"Is it dead?" Claire whispered and went to Steve's side.

"Yeah, it's alright now," he reassured her.

"It's time to get out of her once and for all," Liru said.

Little did they know nobody was leaving. Alfred was still alive and had stumbled to the office found before. He was wounded. The guy slumped into a nearby chair. "Forgive me, Alexia," he grunted. "I thought I could finish them alone." From his coat came a snow globe. It had a little house and two figures, representing him and his sister. "Awaken from your slumber. And bring forth the great Leronica!" The male human pressed a button on the front of the globe. The figures inside began to move on a axis while a lullaby began to play. Far down below in the base a machine started up. More came to life as a pod that held a woman turned on. After some seconds, her eyes opened.

At that same moment the group reached the snowmobile. They saw the key was in it. Before Steve could open the door Claire noticed something behind him. They looked to be like some kind of tentacles that were dull in color and had barbs. The male human turned and was suddenly dragged down. "Steve!" the female human shouted. Suddenly more came up and caught her along with those from the nether. Everything went black for them.

In the meantime on Leon's end he had been successful with finding Chris. After the Mansion incident, the other male was near impossible to track down. But using his new position in the government, Leon eventually discovered Chris's location. He would have contacted Claire, but she had become a ghost herself since being captured. That was part of the reason those from the nether had been sent to find her. It was how they learned of her confinement on that island. After learning they were going on ahead, Chris went after Claire himself.

Back in the present the same guy had caught up to the group and was trying to shake his sister awake. She slowly stirred and him saying her name got everyone else up. They were in some kind of mansion again. "Chris… Chris!" the female human stated after realizing he was here.

It was an emotional reunion for the siblings who met in a hug. "I've been so worried!"

"You kidding me?" the male human asked with a smirk. "I though tough girls like you didn't get worried?"

"It's great to see you again," Nicholas said and there was a reunion for those from the nether and Chris. "But what happened? How did you get here?"

"Leon contacted me."

"Leon?" Claire asked. "You know him…?!"

"Yeah," Chris answered. "He tracked me down right after you went missing." Nobody seemed to realize that another was watching from the shadows. "Look… we can talk about this later. But we gotta get outta here first."

"Wait… Steve…" Claire commented. "He's here, somewhere. We can't leave without him."

Nicholas suddenly let out a growl as he caught the whiff of the one watching. Liru did as well and both werewolves whipped around causing the rest to look. It was a woman, the exact same one that had been seen in that picture. She was letting out some giggles; but the sound of them was unsettling. "You're Alexia Rashford…!" the female human said.

"Oh, you know my name," the said person replied.

"We thought you were dead!?" Nicholas stated.

"No, I've just been hibernating for fifteen years… to become one with the Leronica virus."

"Leronica Virus?" Liru repeated.

"I still have some experiments to perform," Alexia commented. "Would you care to play along? Your friend awaits you in the Coliseum. You don't want to be late." She then walked away and down the hall with those same giggles.

"Hey!" Claire shouted. "Stop!"

Suddenly her brother cocked his gun and the rest turned to see more zombies approaching them. After some were shot down, it was time to move. The group went up some stairs. When they got to the top, some of the same tentacles from before appeared. "Watch out for those!" Uma stated.

"Take them out one at a time!" Logan said. Working together, each one was fended off. But for everyone taken down, another rose up.

"We have to hurry!" Claire commented. "I'm worried about Steve."

The group had to jump in order to reach a door. They were quickly through it and found themselves in some pallor like area. "These people need to hire a new decorator," Chris said.

"What do you mean?" his sister asked.

"This palace. They had the same one in that mansion. The one you heard about I'm sure."

"He's right," Napoleon agreed. "Definitely not my taste. At least us and Chris know our way around since it's the same."

Everyone slowly moved forward, taking out any enemy that stood in the way. One surprise was a swarm of ants. It had to be another one of the Rindella's crazy research projects. Then they were out of the area and in a place made of stone. More zombies were here and shot down. "Come on Steve," Claire said. "Where are you?" She then looked down the hall and saw at the far end the said guy was there and appeared to be sitting. "Steve!"

She ran towards him with everyone close behind. They were in a rounded area that had suits of armor, each wielding huge double-sided axes. The male human was pinned against a center column by one of these. He saw them coming. "No!" he stated. "Get back!" Claire stopped short when she saw how the male human was along with everyone else. "She injected me with something. I think… it's the Leronica virus. She wants to test me, see if I'll obey her orders. Claire, she wants me to kill you."

"Steve!" she whispered and took one step towards him. The second the female human did, Steve began to let out groans. Chris cocked his pistol at the male. Those from the nether world stepped back, hands on their weapons. Steve's left hand began to clench and unclench.

"I won't…" he groaned. "Kill you…!" His right hand grabbed the ax weapon and everyone could see it beginning to be pulled out.

"Steve!" Claire cried.

His right hand began to grow bigger. Suddenly a spike of some kind sprouted from the left shoulder as the whole body began to grow. Something began to move underneath the cheeks as Steve's skin became some dark, sickly green color. The whites of the eyes became blood red while the pupils changed to yellow. The ax was torn from the wall as the now transformed human stood up with a roar. His shirt fell off as more spikes on the left shoulder emerged. His feet changed to three clawed one, the entire body now the same green as the face. The right hand changed to a three fingered one as some kind of tiny limbs grew out of the left pectoral muscle. The heart bulged out of the right one becoming more visible.

"Claire!" her brother stated to her as she took a step back. Steve let out a roar as Nicholas and Liru transformed, his katana coming out.

"Don't make me do this…!" she whispered to the new enemy as he began to swing back his ax. Those with guns fired, causing him to stop and falter.

"Shot him!" Nicholas yelled. "Aim for his heart! The heart!"

A couple more shots then happened and the group got back with the male werewolf dragging Claire who was crying by this point. Steve jumped up and landed in front of them. He tried to strike again, but was stopped by some shots. "Ok, c'mon!" Napoleon stated. "Run!"

They then went to another side of the room. "Steve!" Claire sobbed. This time he jumped back and forth to get to them so a shot couldn't be fired. At the last second the rest dogged, and Liru and Nicholas struck. Her claws and his blade drew blood.

"We're in trouble here!" Chris commented. "Move!" The rest did so and saw the enemy was about to throw his ax. It came whizzing at them and they ducked under while Cosmo, using his strength, shattered the weapon with a punch. Steve just picked up another ax from one of the suits of armor. Everyone then ran again but were stopped when the same weapon was thrown to stop them. Another then came in and they saw their opponent getting ready to throw a third one.

"Stop!" Claire shouted at Steve.

"Jump!" Chris ordered and quickly they were up on a stone area that was above the floor.

"I think we need to make a run for it," Nicholas panted. He looked up and saw some kind of grate that covered an exit.

"No!" she objected.

"Claire!" her brother stated. " We're not gonna give up, but right now we've got no choice." That seemed to calm her down.

"Alright…" she replied as the group jumped to the next level.

"Good. Let's get upstairs before he catches up."

Just at that moment the enemy came up and was above them. His claw feet were anchoring him to the wall. "Steve…" Claire said.

"He's got one hell of a jump!" Logan commented as he and Uma fired lighting from their wands as the opponent came down to strike them. It did the trick and he stopped before heading down to the ground floor.

"Let's go!" the female human stated. The next ledge required a jump across to get to. The group made it. "I'll be back. I promise."

"He's coming!" Aiko cried out. Steve had jumped up to their level again. The guy was shot down and fell once more.

A couple more jumps latter found the group right underneath the grate. "Good, I think we can get out through here!" Nicholas said. There was a ladder to reach it.

"Watch out!" Chris shouted. Steve had come back and sliced right were the group was, knocking out the section they were standing on. Everyone fell and those from the nether managed to land safely while making sure the two humans didn't get hurt. Upon doing so, they fired at Steve and the blow caused the ax he was wielding to be embedded into his left shoulder. The guy managed to pull it out and went to his knees.

Suddenly more tentacles from before erupted from the ground. One managed to grab Claire around her left ankle. "Claire!" Chris shouted before having to bat one back with a punch to keep it from grabbing him. The others were just dodging the rest. Another grabbed the human female around the arm and both began to pull. It was obvious they were going to literally rip her apart. Steve looked up from his position and saw Claire in trouble. Picking up one of the axes that had been used, the guy ran forward, and sliced through one of the tentacles holding her. The female human fell to the ground and looked up just in time to see the other that had been holding her down launch forward and impale Steve against the column in the middle of the room. The tentacles then retreated.

"Steve!" Claire cried and ran up to him. He reverted back into his human form. "Hold on!" The rest of the group came up to the two. "We're going to get you out of here."

"No…" he responded back weakly. "I'm not gonna' make it. You know that." The nether world monsters looked and saw the damage was greater than at first glance. Not even Logan with a healing spell or one of the runes they had could save Steve. "The virus is in me. There's no turning back."

"No," Claire insisted. "You're coming with us." Steve turned his head to her.

"Claire…" the dying male human whispered. His left hand slowly reached up to touch her face. "Even though… we didn't know each other long… I lo…" The rest of his sentience went silent but everyone could tell he had meant to say, "I love you." His head rolled to the side and Steve didn't move anymore.

"Steve?" Claire commented with tears in her eyes. "Steve?! No…" She began to cry while holding onto his dead body. Chris went to her with a comforting hand.

"Stay here," he said and held up some detonators. "We're gonna go plant this in the power room."

"I'm coming with you," his sister suddenly said, the crying now finished. "It's time this ended. Alexia has to be stopped." She turned her head back to Steve. "I'm going to finish this Steve. And then we'll all be free."

The group began their way to the end. "We'll need to get to the Control Room first," Nicholas stated. "It's down the hall."

They went that way and noticed ants were again standing in the way. "Why are there so many of these things here?" Liru asked as everyone fired to get rid of them. A break then happened and the group went inside. The control room had the usual things found in one but also the walkway was a grate one. Alexis was looking over the railing at something at the far end of the room. And more of the same tentacles could be seen.

"My little experiment at the Coliseum was so much fun, don't you think?" the enemy commented. Before any of the group could fire one of the tentacles came out of nowhere, and struck at Chris. "Although I guess sometimes a worker ant will turn on his queen." Alexis raised her hand and the tentacle, which had managed to grab the detonators the male human had crushed them to bits. It was obvious now she was the one controlling them.

"Chris!" Claire exclaimed. "Are you OK?"

"Oh that's right. You two are brother and sister, aren't you? I had a brother once. He really wasn't much fun. He couldn't even wake me up on time! But, I've released him of all his responsibilities." Those words made the skin of those from the nether crawl; Alexis had killed Alfred.

"You think everyone else is here to serve you, don't you!?" Claire shot at Alexis, gun at the ready.

"Serve me? No. I think everyone else is here to serve my experiments!" The enemy let out those insane giggles while holding up her hands and walking forward. Fire suddenly came out but didn't burn those parts of her body. The fire then spread to the rest of the body. Nicholas and Liru transformed while taking a step back. Alexis's dress and clothes burned away revealing she had changed. The skin had become grey with strange growths on certain points. The hair had changed to matched with long strands of some kind of growth covering the right eye.

"Now, let start our exciting experiment, shall we?" the enemy commented and raised her right hand. Two tentacles came out, blocking the exit. "Lab rats aren't meant to run away, you know! How amusing! I can feel Leronica surging through my cells! Oh, god! Witness my power!"

Everyone fired which while it seemed to do some damage, didn't stop Alexis. She raised right hand, which began to bleed. The blood was then thrown and from it came fire. The group had to move to avoid it. The enemy showed she had quite the jumping power as she went up to a higher level of the room to attack. "Her blood is burning!" Claire exclaimed.

"Don't die too easily, my dear!"

The enemy then came back down. Logan and Uma casted water on the fire that was still there to put it out. This was a mistake as the enemy quickly moved and had them both in her grasp. "Let go!" the witch gasped.

Nicholas and Liru came up from behind, slicing and hacking away. Alexis had to let go of the wizard and his girl. Everyone else then took the opportunity and fired. The enemy went to her knees. "Did that do it?" Chris asked.

Their opponent just laughed. "How dare you!? I think you've gone too far this time." She rose up. As Alexis began to walk towards the group, more of the tentacles below rose up, actually making holes through the grate like walkway. "Thanks to you Leronica's angry, which makes me stronger!" They begun to surround the enemy as her giggling turned to mad laughter. A warning siren came on and one of the screens lit up with the message, "Biohazard Type-C Detected." Suddenly a video came on showing her father who appeared to be sitting in the same office that had been visited before.

"If you are seeing this message… That can only mean Code: Leronica has reached a critical stage," the past Alexander said.

"Father?!" Alexis asked in disbelief as the tentacles completely wrapped around her.

"The year is 1985… And I am afraid that my only daughter has become obsessed with the Leronica virus. She has even gotten to the point of experimenting on her own body." While this was going on, the tentacles had melted into a formless dark purple mound surrounding the enemy. It moved though like there was something there. "My daughter dreams of unleashing this… thing into the world." The mound became some kind of grotesque flower with a stranger growth sprouting in the front. Alexis emerged at the top like the petals of a flower. Other tentacles came out from behind the plant like structure. "This last step is the only way I can think of to help her." From behind the enemy a screen showed some kind of launcher being filled up with a liquid that would stop the opponent. The door that it was behind opened up. "Whether you are on Rindella's side or not… Please help her." The video message then shut off.

"Even though it was he who created my brother and I… But he was such a miserable old man," Alexis stated. The growth on her head no looked like some kind of red leaves and her arms and become four long limbs with hooked ends.

A female voice then came on the loud speakers. "Initiating Linear Launcher charge. Safety Lock will be disengaged once charge has been completed." The group began to rush towards the enemy but had to dodge the tentacles sent at them.

"Maybe, but we can't get to it from here," Claire pointed out.

"Either way we need to take her out and fast," her brother said. "Otherwise, we're dead."

Cosmo and the male human both tossed a grenade each. That seemed to do some damage to Alexis. The female voice then came back on. "Charge 20% complete."

Suddenly the enemy reached out and managed to grab the two. They shook her off with another blast as everyone else fired. "Charge 40% complete," went the female voice.

Nicholas and Liru ran behind the enemy. She tried to reach out for them with her long arms, but they sliced at them, causing Alexis to cry out in pain and back off. She covered her head with those same limbs. The werewolves then came back around just in time to help with attacking the main body again. Fire was tossed by the enemy but Logan and Uma got rid of it quickly with water. "Charge now at 80%," stated the female voice.

The structure on the front of the plant retreated and everyone could see the wounds inflected were disappearing. "She's… She's regenerating!" Pachira exclaimed with horror.

"She ain't going down easy, is she?" Nicholas commented.

"Charge complete," the female voice stated. "Safety lock will no disengage. Please avoid contact with anything other than the Linear Launcher."

"That should do the trick!" Napoleon stated when he saw it come out. "Quick! We'll cross above her!" He pointed the way out. Everyone then fired causing the enemy to halt. He and Pachira then ran for the path to get to the launcher. No matter what was shot at the vampires, the rest fired, stopping these things. The two quickly got the launcher and the male was grabbed. "You!" he snarled. "Take this!"

He fired and Alexis let out cries of pain. The group saw the mound course with some kind of blue electricity. She then went limp. "Come on!" Nicholas yelled. "Let's get out of here!"

The group began to head to for the exit but stopped when they heard familiar laughter. Looking back and in shock they same Alexis had risen from the mound, Her limbs had become like insect wings and the lower body had turned into a long stinger. "She's still alive?!" Claire exclaimed.

The enemy began to move like a dragonfly. "She's too fast!" Aiko pointed out.

"We can't get here from here, we need to move!" Logan said and pointed out a ledge that could work. Chris and Napoleon took that route while the rest covered them. Alexis used fire and tried to sting the group, but was stopped overtime. Soon the male human and vampire were in position.

"Just need a perfect shot…" Napoleon whispered, launcher at the ready. He then saw the enemy falter after taking some more hits. With a shout the vampire fired; a direct hit. Alexis let out shouts of pain and her moments slowed. Her body began to burst into flames. With a final shot she exploded in a shower of fire and blood. There was a trace of her left. Everyone let out a breath.

"Let's get back," said Claire. "Steve's waiting for me."

Everyone ran back to where he was only to find he was gone. "What's going on?!" Claire asked. "Where's Steve?!"

On the column a message had been carved with a knife that said, "I won this game." Chris grabbed the thing that had done it which was still there. The guy looked at it and knew in an instant. "He's been taken," the male human stated.

"A F.I.L.E.S. knife…" Nicholas commented. "But it looks different from yours."

"I'm pretty sure I know who it belongs to."

The humans and those from the nether world found a plane and were on board it just as the base begun to collapse and catch fire as a self-destruct mode had been activated. Liru then looked down and saw something that made her blood run cold. "Guys!" she stated. "Look!" Most did and to their shock saw Albert Desker looking up at them, somehow still alive. The vehicle left the content and the explosion of the base was seen. The humans dropped the others off first in Japan before returning to the Untied Stated.

Despite their best efforts it was obvious Steve had been secured by Desker as there was still a sample of the Leronica virus in the dead guy's body. Anything to do with the enemy would be silent for a while but everyone else kept their ears open for any news. However, things were about to get much worst as another of the enemy would begin to strike back at the group.


	19. Chapter 19

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 19: Attack From Brothers

A year had passed since that incident very quickly. While nothing new had come about Rindella, reports of monsters had been coming into them. Zombies, vampires, werewolves, and others, the group was doing all it could to help the government deal with them. This not only gave more practice, but experience for the females. In addition the relationships were still going well. Pachira and Napoleon had gone a step further and were now sharing the same room. While it wasn't known yet if they were having sex, it was definitely a big step and the female vampire was very happy and it could be seen easily.

In the meantime the amount of attacks was so bad that it got to the point that in the mansion those from the nether lived at a meeting was called by all the important people in the Japanese government. From those of the branches to military except the current emperor were meeting at a round table in one of the many rooms. There were also guards that had been hired for the occasion. The rest of the group was also hanging out while the male werewolf did this meeting. Now these guys were aware that monsters existed but that most were on the side of good. This was known long before the girls from the nether had come. While some of the public did as well, the race of monsters and humans were living in harmony. Except for those who were evil like the ones the group had been facing.

The others attending were all male and the meeting was in session. "Well now, the situation must be incredibly dire if you've gone to call a meeting such as this," one of those in charge said. "Am I right, Mr. Nicholas?"

"Yes," the male werewolf replied.

"Civilian reports of vampire, werewolf, and zombie attacks on our soil have been rising steadily over the past months," commented another male. "We can't keep this quite for much longer."

"There are limits to the information that we can hide. What is going on Mr. Nicholas?"

"We have been conducting our own investigation. And finally we've come across our first solid piece of evidence." The werewolf held up his hand. In-between the thumb and index finger was some kind of chip that was slightly burned.

"And what is that supposed to be?" another of the males sitting at the table asked.

"A transmitter, perhaps much more," Nicholas answered. "We've been finding these microchips embedded within the vampires, werewolves, and zombies. These chips seem to give information the creatures physical and mental state, movements, and altercations."

This brought a bit of shock to some at the table. "These attacks are not random. There is someone creating these things, controlling them, moving to some unknown purpose." Nicholas then paused with a grimace. "And that's not all. It gets worst."

"What?!" another male asked. "Please, go on."

"These are different. With the zombies, they're creating new ones by biting and passing on the virus they make them to healthy humans. That much we already knew. However with the werewolves they are so out of control that not one new one has been created. As for the vampires, traditionally one from the nether must first be present to create a new one. The corpuses of deflowered men and woman who have had their blood drained from these attacks became zombie like creatures, which are being referred to as ghouls. But not anymore. During these last attacks, not one new vampire has been created. Even young boys and girls who were clearly virgins have all become ghouls instead of vampires."

"Also the traditional ghouls we've encountered in the past don't survive the destruction of their host. But during that incident with the Vatican agent Fileson, he claimed to have destroyed the vampire long before our arrival. The host vampire had been destroyed and yet, the ghouls still walked."

"It's not just here, but also in the United States. I have friends who work for their government and they are also having similar attacks while finding the same microchips. As you know nothing of Rindella has come up but their presence still lingers in the world."

"So what does it all mean?" the first male who had spoken asked.

"We are at war against a conspiracy of vampire, werewolf, and zombie experts," Nicholas stated. "Perhaps working as well with the last remands of Rindella. And they're showing remarkable skill. Gentlemen, the enemy is almost just like us."

Meanwhile down in the basement the others were taking a break from the guard duty. Liru let out a sigh with her head on her hand. "Why the long face?" Napoleon asked.

"I just wish this meeting was over so I can get back to Nicholas. I know it's important, but still…"

"It shouldn't be much longer," Pachira commented who was snuggled next to her vampire boyfriend.

"Anyone else want something to drink?" Aiko asked. "Uma did and I figured I'd get you something as well."

"Sounds good," Logan replied. The female android got it and handed the glasses out. Just before Liru could take a sip her glass cracked since it was made of glass. The sound caught everyone's attention.

"Uh… did you squeeze a bit too hard?" Uma asked.

"That wasn't me," the female werewolf replied. A sudden chill was in the room. "I just hope this doesn't mean something bad is coming."

Liru was right because something was. On the outskirts two armored buses pulled up near one of the gate entrances. Two males got out and began to walk down the path towards it. One had fair skin with green eyes and long blonde hair. He had glasses on and a military style coat that was colored white and had gold trimming. An over coat of the same color was on top of that along with gloves, pants, and shoes that were also white. The other male had darker skin to the point of being tanned that matched his dark colored hair. He also had amber eyes that matched with the military coat, pants, and shoes that were dark blue. He also had a number of facial piercings; Two on the left ear, one under the left eye, one on the right side of his noise, and two on the lower lip that were golden in color.

The pierced male let out a bit of mad laugh. "So this dude's friend, I mean he's like a real doctor but like does the cosmetic shit on the side right?" he went. "So then that same crazy fuck with the horn comes back but now he wants a Plexiglas plate for his skull! And the doctor fucking does it! He makes a window! You can see the fucker's brain and shit. The guy's got a big monster horn and his head meat on his plate. The guy's a freak! I mean what the fuck?!" He let another insane laugh out. "Yeah; get it?"

"Shut up," said the other male. "This stream of gibberish pours from your mouth before every job. Can we just this once try this for quiet, focused, and cool?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," sighed the other. "I got it! Same old shit. I know. Fucking A bro."

"Failure is not an option." The pierced male let out a snort.

"Please. I could pull this job in my god damn sleep."

The two approached the gate. The guards posted there notice them. "Hey what are you two doing here?" asked one of them. "These grounds are off limits."

"Oh I'm so sorry," said the male with glasses in a bit of a mocking voice. "We're on a site seeing tour of famous landmarks and buildings of Japan."

"Are you saying this mansion isn't open to the public?" asked the one with piercings.

"This is private property," stated the first guard. "Please leave at once."

"Yes sir," said the dark skinned male.

"Alright," responded the other one. He then snapped his fingers. A shot was heard and it nailed the second guard right in the forehead. The human was dead before he hit the ground. The other one was in shock; it had happened so fast. He then quickly took a look and saw that the shot had come from one of the armored bus through an opening. Suddenly more gun barrels emerged from other openings. The guard just took a step back, his life flashing through his eyes.

"Dude's looking queasy," commented the male.

"He could use a nap," said the other one.

"Right then." A mad grin came onto the dark skinned male. "Chao." He snapped his fingers. The gun barrels let loose, this time like machine guns. The remaining guard was ripped to shreds. And still when he fell, the firing continued.. "Hold your fire!" shouted the dark skinned male. It still went on. "I said hold your fucking fire!" This time it stopped. "Dude, bro. These guys are complete fucking idiots. Are you sure about this shit?"

"Please," went the other male. "This is a test. An insignificant, ordinary test. Don't forget the big picture. Their plans are moving forward and we are but the smallest cogs in their great machine."

"Fine, whatever. Now let's have a little fun." The pierced male snapped his fingers again. From the vehicles emerged humanoid beings. They had glowing purple eyes, dressed in dark military garb. The teeth could be seen and were pointed, indicating they were ghouls. The guns were machine kind. On the inside of the legs and arms were red sections that had lines on them like an insect. They walked as though they were humanoid like insects. Some of them had riot shields in their left hands. The beings lined up in rows. One of them handed two sub machine guns to the pierced male.

"Listen up maggots, you know how the plan goes; you make the kill you drink the spill!" he shouted, showing off his pointed vampire teeth. Now it was obvious what he and the longhaired male were. "And if you run into those males or any of the nether biatches don't you quite until there dead. Dead! Dead!" The large group made their way to the mansion and began the slaughter. In the conference room, Nicholas and the other humans saw the lights flicker on and off as the attack affected the power.

"Mr. Nicholas, what's going on?" asked the first human that had spoken. Suddenly the communication's box in the room went off that was used to communicate with the staff of the mansion at this time.

"Mr. Nicholas, this is control room one!" it was the sound of a frantic male.

"What happened?" asked the werewolf. "Report!"

"We're under attack!" went the voice. "It's an unknown enemy!"

"What?!"

"All of our communications have been cut off! We don't know how long we'll last!"

"Hold the line!" Nicholas barked. "Buy as much time as you can!"

"Yes sir!" The voice then yet out a yell.

"Officer!" the werewolf shouted. "We need details! How many?! Who are we fighting?!"

"The enemy…!" said the officer. "It's… oh god… the enemies are ghouls!" The conference room was silenced with shock.

Meanwhile in the halls, the enemy continued to advance. Yet when one fell, there were three more to take its place. Shooting the heads off did nothing as the badies kept going. The guards of the mansion were slaughtered. The pierced vampire was behind a group of the monsters and approached an intersection in the hall. A mad grin crossed his face.

"Above!" he shouted and fired his guns at some guards that hadn't been killed yet. "Down, down!" The male turned and fired at some more. "Left! Right! Left! Right!" More guards were killed. The barrels of the sub machine guns were smoking. "Bring in the mother fucking death by konami! Oh, I'm so fucking hard right now." He let another mad laugh out while the other vampire just let out a sigh of annoyance. The longhaired one decided to head down a different hallway.

"An army. A ghoul army," said Nicholas.

"We need to buy time," went one of the human males.

"First priority is our evacuation," commented another. Suddenly everyone felt an explosion happened from above.

"What was that?!" asked the first that had spoken.

"I'm afraid that was the heliport sir!" cried the same voice from the communicator box.

"This is a very well planned attack," the werewolf stated.

"Mr. Nicholas, we can't hold this position for much longer! We're being overrun!" The voice then let out some screams as his life was ended.

"Officer!" shouted the male. "Report!"

"Hello!" went a different voice. It was the pierced vampire." Uh… is this thing on? Cool! This message is going out to the round table conference! And a very personal and heart filled shout-out to the king fucker himself, Nicholas! Alright! Your ass is currently being kicked by the Mealentine brothers! My name is Jan Mealentine and I can't wait to meet each and every one of you! We'll be getting intimate as soon as me and the boys finish lunch! Let me be the first to thank you for providing us with all of these tasty snacks! By tomorrow, this place will be nothing but a pile of shit! You've got nowhere left to run and nowhere to hide, because now I'm coming to kill you. I want to see you cry and beg. In the meantime I highly recommend pissing yourselves. Followed of course by a praying to your impotent god! But hey, there's always time to just be a man and just kill yourselves! Thank you Japan! We love you! Goodnight!" The line then went dead.

"What do you plan to do about this?!" asked another of the males. "He said the ghouls have taken over this place!"

"They're coming for us," Nicholas replied. "What's worse is that we have a security leak." The werewolf dialed a number on the communication box and got the others. "What's your position guys?"

"We're in the sub basement at the moment," Cosmo replied. "We've already been brought up to speed on the situation. Outside communications have been cut off so I wouldn't expect reinforcements for at least four hours. Maybe five. In the meantime our current forces have been order to defend the conference room with their lives."

"What do you recommend?" Nicholas asked..

"Well for starters, please fortify the door to the conference room. Since there are so many of us, I suggest we split up into two teams. Pachira and Napoleon will head upstairs. Liru, Logan, Uma, Aiko, and I will make our way to the conference room."

"How will you manage? The hallways are full of ghouls."

"Well why do you think I installed that system in case of things like this?" asked the male android. It then hit the werewolf

"The air ducts; of course," Nicholas replied.

"Seems to be the best option at the moment. We'll be there shortly. Good luck."

"Cosmo!" the male werewolf growled. "These things area eating our people! None of you show no mercy! Do not let them leave the grounds alive!" The Android just smiled

"I was playing on it and it's a good opportunity to test this new weapon I've made," he said and hung up.

"So it's finished?" Aiko asked and her boyfriend nodded. "Guess we'd better get moving. Let's not die here.

"It's not going to happen," replied Napoleon. "This could actually turn out to be fun." He disappeared through the wall. Pachira had to leave by the door since she hadn't quite got the trick down.

"Make you wonder doesn't it," Liru commented. "If there are any normal people working in here."

Meanwhile the vampire with glasses was making his way to the area that would lead him to the basement. Along the way, he killed more guards using his speed and a wicked looking knife. The male then heard his phone go off and answered. "What?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"Yo Luke, what up?" asked Jan on the other end. "Can you hear me now? This is your brother Jan Mealentine, commander of the army of Undead Ghoul Slayers. Oh yeah! Letting you know that the first two floors have been secured. Now all that's left is take the third, crash the round table conference, and kick the shit out of a single werewolf and a bunch of old people."

"Just stick to the plan. Don't give them an inch. I think I may have found the entrance to the basement." Luke then hung up the phone. "Well that's enough of that. Time to see what you can do… Napoleon."

Meanwhile in the conference room, everyone was preparing to defend themselves with their lives. Some were freaking out. Even so Nicholas managed to keep calm. If this was to be their last fight, they were ready to go out with a bang. But then Cosmo's group came in from above, bringing relief to the rest.

"Are you alright your Nicholas?" asked Liru, going to his side.

"Yes, it's good to see you made it," he replied..

"It's bad out there," commented Cosmo. "I don't know who armed and trained these creatures, but who ever did is a tactical genius. They knew exactly how and where to strike at this place."

"Tell me, do you think we're done for?"

"Of course not," stated the male android with a grin. "Compared to the sorts of trouble we've face so far, this hardly comes to being a crises. The plan is as follows. Napoleon and Pachira will intercept our attackers bellow. The rest of us will clear this floor." From his hands blue colored strings suddenly came out. They were a set of very long monomolecular razor wires. "We'll make sure they will never see the light of day. Now then, I think it's time I teach these humans a proper lesson in violence."

Meanwhile Jan had found a desk room where certain papers were signed. He was having a glass of wine from a bottle that had been found. Despite being a vampire, he could drink this just fine. "Fuck this is some fine alcohol! Like all gold and shit!" The ghouls were with him. "I mean come on! That's just fucked up! People starving in the world and they're wasting their money on this! A slow and agonizing death is too good for those stick-up-their ass fucks! I think it's time someone gave them an ol' fashioned workin' class ass kicking!" He began to move towards the conference room.

Elsewhere Luke had managed to get to the basement. He had broken through. "I know you're in here. Even when you're hiding, I can feel your presence."

"Why on earth would I hide?" Napoleon stated. The other vampire saw him sitting on a high backed chair with a wine glass of crimson blood in it. Most of it had been drained. "Don't dare mistake my patience for fear. Honestly I was starting to get a bit bored waiting for you."

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Napoleon," said the enemy. "My name is Luke Mealentine. I've heard a lot about you."

In the halls above, Jan was getting closer to the conference room. "Little nether beings, we're coming to find you," he taunted. "Come on out and play why don't you? I promise it's going to be a lot of fun. We just want to torture you, kill you. Maybe skull fuck the corpses of the females a couple of times. Burn the place to the ground, go home, and masturbate, okay?"

Suddenly a door to a room up ahead opened and out stepped Cosmo. Faster than the eye could see, the wires came out. They sliced the glass Jan was holding to bits, the liquid still inside splashing everywhere. Two ghouls behind him suddenly came apart, blood and gore spilling everywhere. The vampire was left in shock.

"Oh dear, I missed," commented the android as he walked forward. "I guess I don't have this new weapon quite under control. My name is Cosmo, an android. One straight from the nether. And here to stop you from going further." More wires came out from his hands.

"Fire!" shouted Jan, sweat covering his face. The ghouls did so with their machine guns. Cosmo moved like a bullet; he was that fast.

"Bit on the slow side aren't they?" he asked. "After all a ghoul like a zombie is just a ghoul. In theory threatening, certainly scary looking. But honestly, they're far from being indestructible or invincible!" He pulled on his wires and a number of the enemy was killed. Jan was still in complete shock.

"I highly recommend pissing yourselves. Followed of course by a praying to your impotent god!" Cosmo said, using the vampire's own words. The enemy let out a mad laugh.

"Now that's fucking great! Cause I got to tell you, plowing through you people was really starting to bore the fuck out of me!" He snapped his fingers and more ghouls showed up, ones that had riot shields.

"Oh my," commented the android, not the least bit worried. The enemy began to advance. "Now then all of you. Now would be a good time for some support."

"Got it; right!" said Aiko. She and the others had a couple of cannon guns with them. The males were providing support for the backlash when the weapons were fired while the females handled the part of pulling the trigger. The group fired two shots at the enemy. The bullets tore through the riot shields and ghouls. They kept going until the hit the wall at the far end of the hall. Jan let out a shock gasp as he saw this.

"Don't stop now!" shouted Liru. "Let's keep it up!" The guns were reloaded and the pierced vampire saw them.

"Oh fuck you!" yelled Jan. Two more shots destroyed the rest of the ghouls. The enemy let out a mad laugh again and ran forward to avoid the attack. He went after Cosmo and fired with his weapons. The android managed to dodge this attack.

"You like that?! You robotic fuck?!" spat Jan. Cosmo pulled with his wires and the enemy felt his lower lip piercing on the right side get pulled out causing the area to bleed as the skin was taken off as well. Jan spat some blood to the side. "NOW! DIE!" He was suddenly knocked to the ground by Liru who had run up behind him. The vampire was pinned.

"I've got him guys!" she shouted. "Are you alright Cosmo?!"

"Get off bitch," grunted the enemy. "I'm the one who's suppose to be on top!"

"Of course I am," said the male android. Everyone else came out. "That is quite an impressive hold. Where did you learn it?"

"Well I was taught how to fight by Nicholas," answered the female werewolf.

"Get the fuck off of me!" yelled Jan. "Fucking werewolf slut! Is this the best you've got?! No wonder you all went down like a fucking bunch of pussies!"

"We'll be asking the questions," said Logan this time. "What's the purpose of this attack? Who are you taking orders from?"

"Me? I'm just a tourist; I was just passing by, totaling minding my own business and thought I'd have a look. So we cool… dude?" The wizard stomped hard on his right hand, which was out. The enemy let out a grunt of pain.

"The left one is next," Logan snarled.

"We were following orders, alright?!" grunted Jan. "We were told to attack this mansion and killed everyone we found inside. We were suppose to confirm the deaths of you and everyone else of importance."

"Hold on," said Logan. "You're not the only one in charge here. Who else?" The enemy vampire let out a laugh.

"Wow, you're quick! Right now big brother Mealentine is downstairs beating Napoleon into a carpet stain!" Everyone in the group immediately began to worry about the him and Pachira.

"Your name gets thrown around quite a bit Napoleon," said Luke. "The things people say. They tell stories of your amazing strength, how you can from a place that's not of this world. How when you and that other vampire who I can sense here team up how both of you are unstoppable. And now I finally get to see if there is more to you than meets the eye."

Napoleon smirked as he thought Pachira had hidden herself well. She came out from behind the chair he was sitting at. "When I was human, I feared you," the enemy continued. "The stories anyway. And when I gave up being human, when I became this, I began to admire you and your other friends. All of you from the nether. No matter what the rest of us do, we're all just chasing your shadows."

"That's ridiculous," the other male vampire finally spoke. "You fool. You do realize who you're dealing with right?"

"Yes I do," answered Luke with a smile. "And once I have your head and hers on a stick, everyone else will know about it. So now I get to kill you and make my wildest dreams come true."

The wine glass was knocked off the table as Pachira, Napoleon, and the enemy moved. Luke whipped out a gun just as the other vampire did. Both had them to the foreheads of the other while the female vampire had one pointed at the enemy's side. Right when the glass hit the stone floor and shattered, did all three fire. Blood came out of the two males who were sent back; Napoleon to the left arm rest, Luke to the floor. For some seconds nobody made a sound. Pachira's boyfriend then stirred and began to chuckle. Not like one that he was enjoying this fight, but one of amazement. The enemy begun to do the same, feeling the same way.

Luke suddenly rose up with another gun out and fired with the first. Pachira was able to get behind the chair Napoleon was at, but he wasn't as lucky. He got hit by quite a few shots. The male went down, but was still alive. He fired with his gun, and a hail of bullets were launched at Luke. The other vampire moved and was a blur, dodging the fire while return attacks of his own. "You've never seen anything like me before!" commented the enemy vampire. "I was designed to surpass you in every way! I was born to be your death!"

Luke then moved and was on top of Napoleon. "Check." Suddenly he saw the other two vampires had their guns to his body. He jumped just as they fired and avoided getting hit. The bullets from the other male vampire continued. They then stopped when Luke did as one shot flew back, and did a lot of damage, causing a wall to cave in. The enemy felt the shock wave. "A pistol… did that?" he commented in surprise. "Jesus…"

"You're reflexes are amazing," Napoleon stated, and rose up, blood running down his body from all the bullet wounds he had acquired.

"I told you I'm completely different from any creature you've ever faced before. I have the sum total of your vampiric power at my disposal. All of it, and more." The other vampire let out a whistle. Upstairs, Jan was still talking.

"Me and my brother, we were designed with the sole intention of killing you fucks! You people are so fucking dead and you don't even know it!" Liru tightened her grip on him.

"You're in no position to make threats," Cosmo commented. The pierced vampire laughed.

"Dude, you must be going senile Rusty." Everyone else then heard a sound and looked up to see more ghouls slowly approaching them. Jan suddenly elbowed Liru knocking her off and jumping back. The female looked behind her to see the incoming enemy.

"And now for our next trick, check out door number three!" the enemy stated. Now the group could see they were the guards that had been human and now turned.

"My god, what have you done?!" shouted Logan.

"Time to get this party started," said Jan. He leapt and managed to clear the others. He began to run towards the conference room.

"Stop!" yelled Cosmo and flung his wires at the vampire. They got him on the right arm. Jan just kept going and the wires sliced through his limb. The enemy let out another laugh and flung the doors open, only to find that everyone inside had guns ready.

"You made it, congratulations," growled Nicholas.

"Oh fuck me," stated Jan. The amount of bullets was amazing as it bombarded the enemy, wounding him and knocking him to the ground. The male werewolf then saw what was going on in the hallway.

"What?!" he asked, all shocked.

Downstairs, the battle was still going on. " _He's not even trying to dodge the bullets,_ " Luke thought. Napoleon was just standing there and firing while the other vampire was moving to avoid the fire. " _Does he think he's indestructible? Everything has a breaking point. He may act like he's not injured. But he's taking far more damage than I am. I can beat him!_ " The enemy got a smile on his face while Napoleon hunched over a bit, blood running down his body.

"Amazing…" the other male vampire stated. "Truly amazing to think you'd be this strong. What did you say your name was?" He looked up and the blood disappeared, even on his clothes. The enemy's smile disappeared just as fast as the wounds Napoleon had.

"It's Luke; Luke Mealentine."

"Luke Mealentine… it's obvious your powers are beyond anything I've faced against so far." The other male vampire crossed his arms in front of his face. "Now the time has come to put some more of these runes to use that have been made…" Three new ones appeared; ones that were for manifestation, transformation, and shape shifting. Suddenly hundreds of blood shot, red colored eyes begun to flow around Luke. This was the beginning of him breaking. "Now Luke Mealentine, it's time to educate you on how a vampire from the nether does battle!"

More eyes opened on Napoleon's clothes, which had changed to the blackest of blacks. His body began to morph into a shapeless blob of the same color. The right armed transformed into a dark grey colored hellhound like creature. Another appeared along with the mass falling to the ground. The hound like creatures tried to grab at the enemy who was able to step back, on the point of freaking out. The mass that had been Napoleon turned into many long legged insects. The enemy vampire let out a shout of horror and ran for the exit. The hound like creatures became one and chased after Luke. From the mouth came Napoleon's arm with his gun. He fired, taking off Luke's left leg. The enemy felt the pain, but kept going by hoping on the one last limb he had. Napoleon fired again, taking the other leg.

The enemy fell with a shout of pain, blood flowing from the severed areas, right at where the stairs were. It was a long flight, and Luke seeing this, began to laugh with the air of one in a hopeless situation. He turned back and saw Napoleon beginning to reform. "What are you?!" the enemy asked. "What in the hell are you?!"

"Come on!" Napoleon stated. He grabbed one of Luke's served legs and crushed it to bits. "Is this really all you've got? Alexia was much stronger than this! Transformed your body, heal your injuries! Come on!"

"MONSTER!" Luke yelled back. The other vampire realized what he was really dealing with. His body stopped morphing and went back to normal, but his clothes remained the pitch black as before.

"So, I see you for what you truly are! You're pathetic! Nothing but a coward at heart!"

"Shut up!" the other male snapped back. "You're nothing but a toy for humans! A dog for them to use, not even fit to call himself a vampire! A puppet-"

"SILENCE!" Napoleon snarled, making the enemy shut up. "I'm a dog is that it? Then you're dog food." His right armed turned into one of the hellhounds, which lunged at Luke. It's mouth opened, swallowing the other vampire in one bite. There's wasn't a blood bath at all. "Is that really all you had? You weren't even close to what I've had to deal with so far. As a vampire, you were nothing but a pathetic piece of shit. Now you're nothing but dog shit."

Pachira slowly came out from a corner. Napoleon went back to his normal appearance. "Is he…?" stated the female.

"Yeah, he's gone now. However, there is still the other one I can sense. He doesn't seem like much, but the others are having far more trouble with him then I would have expected."

Upstairs Liru was running for it since she was closest to the new ghouls. Cosmo and Logan were dealing with Jan who was back on his feet again. The other females were backing up as well. Suddenly one of the enemies grabbed the female werewolf's leg. The hand ripped off, but she still tripped and ended on the ground. "No…" Nicholas whispered. "The security forces… They've turned them all into ghouls…"

The mass of enemies begun to reach out towards Liru who was freaking out since being a virgin she had never been touched before. Not even by Nicholas. They were groping her breasts, had opened her legs, touching her face, and even her ass. Suddenly something in the female snapped. Her eyes shot wide open. Her guy had seen this but then his face went to shock as his girl began to tear the ghouls apart with her bare hands. Blood, gore, and body parts splattered the hallway. The other females saw this and were in shock as Liru continued this up.

The female didn't slow down and Nicholas thought he saw a sadistic grin on her face. Like she enjoyed this. "Liru!" he shouted and ran to his girl. "That's enough! You can stop now!" His arms went around the female werewolf. Suddenly she returned to normal and realized what she had done. Liru began to cry and snuggled against the male. He held the female, allowing Liru to let it all out while the rest of the females took care of the rest of the enemies.

Meanwhile Jan was being throw against the wall by Cosmo. He let out a grunt of pain. The vampire was now fully aware and bleeding from several wounds.

"It's all over, boy" said the android.

"Nice… Come on and kill me then dick!" spat Jan.

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. Not until after you tell me who put you up to this. Then I'll put you out of your misery."

"Are you serious?!" asked the enemy. "You fucking pussy!" Nicholas and his group then entered the room. "What up, fucks?!"

The male werewolf shot the pierced male a few time. "I won't have you call Liru that anymore. I'm pissed off. Who the hell are you people? What did you hope to accomplish here?! Who's responsible for this; start talking!"

Jan just let out a laugh and slowly stood up. "Answer!" shouted Nicholas.

"Come on fuck head, you know," answered the vampire. "The ones who put the fucking chip in me! The one that's sending them information letting them know we fucked up! They can hear us talking; every last god damn word! If they know I'm standing here all fucked up and dying about to tell you everything, you think they're going to let me fucking live?!" He suddenly burst into blue flames. Everyone was left in shock.

"See?!" asked Jan. "I so fucking told you!" He let out a mad laugh and flipped off the group. "Well since I'm fucked, how 'bout I piss a little wisdom on you dip-shits! You can take this clue and shove it up your ass fuck head! Beware… the… Millennium Virus!" The body then disappeared, leaving only ashes behind.

"That's it?" asked Nicholas in shock. "The Millennium Virus?"

"Are you alright?" asked Logan.

"Yes… as for them." Everyone looked to see the ghouls still alive, but not moving. "Please put them out of their misery."

"You will delay that order." It was one of the people from the conference. He had a gun. "The responsibility must fall to the one who set this up, their leader."

Although Logan and Cosmo tried to object, Nicholas took the responsibility. It was his fault somewhat for this. In the meantime, what had been said by Jan would be looked into.

X

While the attack left some shaken, it made the group from the nether more determined to find out about this Millennium Virus. They let there friends in the States know about this. On the fifth day Nicholas, Liru, and their group were meeting to discuss this. "Any word yet on Millennium Virus?" the male werewolf asked. Sources had been looked in, but nothing had come up. 'So what you're telling me is that we have no solid leads at all."

"I'm sorry," Logan stated. "Right now we only know the definitions of both words. The span of 1,000 years and a small infectious agent." It then hit Nicholas.

"Now there's something," he said.

"Yes?" asked Cosmo.

"Don't you remember? The Empire of the Millennium. And what one company created? The order that sought the glory of a 1,000 year kingdom that plunge the entire human world… Into a world war. And the one company that created virus that made monsters." The males got the first part but everyone knew what Nicholas was meant by the second statement. "Hitler's Germany; The Millennium order of the third rank. And Rindella, the pharmaceutical company." Little did anyone know how much the male werewolf was right on.


	20. Chapter 20

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 20: Trouble in Brazil

Even though Nicholas had made that statement nothing yet would come up from it. The male werewolf had a little bit of time to think about where he and Liru were now at in their relationship. He could still remember it well the night after the attack. The mess had been cleaned, but the mental part of it was still there. It was getting closer to bed when a knock on the door to his room happened. "Now who could it be?" the male werewolf asked.

Opening it, he was surprised to find the female standing there and looking pretty shaken still. "Liru," Nicholas said. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, while also blushing at the same time. "But after what happened… I don't think I can sleep alone."

Her boyfriend smiled, and pulled her in close. "It's okay, I understand. Actually there was something I was wondering you'd do for me."

"What is it?" the female asked.

He placed one hand on the side of her face. "Liru… I love you; more than any person in the world. Hell even the nether for that matter. After dating for so long maybe it's time we take our relationship a step further by sharing the same room from now on. Think about it; two birds killed with on stone. You're next to someone that makes you feel safe and I have you by my side even more."

She squealed and threw her arms around her boyfriend. "Oh my god! Yes!" Liru responded.

A bit latter found the male werewolf was laying on his bed, which was the perfect size for two people. "So you ready?" he called to the bathroom.

The answer to that was of the door opening to reveal his girl. She was wearing the usual long sleeved t-shirt the male had seen before. But the air around Liru and the smile on her face were different. "Wow…" Nicholas breathed.

"Oh stop," the female giggled.

"Then come over here."

Liru hopped into the bed and snuggled up with her guy. The two snuggled up close. "Mmm this feels nice," she whispered.

"I know what you mean," Nicholas answered. The male couldn't help but feel a little worried as sleeping in the same bed cold lead to something else. However looking at the female it was obvious that she wasn't even close to thinking that. "Is this how you'd imagine it?"

"Very," Liru replied and kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "Now I really need some sleep."

"Okay."

"Love you…"

"I love you to."

As it turned out this would be the best night of Liru's young life, as well as the most enlightening and frightening one. The female did fall asleep easily happier than she had ever been. But during the sleep, the werewolf rolled over and her tail began twitching and tickling Nicholas's waist. That was the first time Liru ever felt it and when the female did, she woke up instantly. The male didn't wake up but she just lay there mentally grasping the size of her guy's tool as it pressed through the sweats he was wearing. In the dark and moment it felt to Liru that Nicholas was well endowed. This male felt huge. He'd be able to rip her apart if he became too excited. The female's boyfriend was stronger than her and Liru would be powerless to stop him.

It wasn't a Nicholas she wanted to see, lust burning in his eyes, a snarl on the face, growling and holding her down while the female screamed because of the pain during the rapid and powerful thrusts. Somehow Liru even after discovering this was able to fall back asleep. In the morning she remembered it well but found the male had gotten up already. Only latter on would he learn of this.

That had been a few days ago. Now things were about to be set in motion. The group had been contacted by Leon since something had come up. According to information received, a former Rindella researcher contacted a man by the name of Javier Lidalgo in a small South American country. Javier, an ex drug lord with political ties , disappeared shortly thereafter. It turned out to be a sample of the Leronica virus. The virus had continued to grow, altering forms, strengthening perpetually. And the person who had handed it over was Desker.

The group was happy to help. But it would take Leon a few days before he'd go along with another person. Everyone decided they would meet in Brazil and from there, head to the target. This would be a good thing since an unusual letter arrived in the mail. It was brought to Nicholas who upon seeing it, called a meeting.

"What is this about?" Cosmo asked when everyone had gathered.

"It's from the Vatican," stated the male werewolf. He opened it up. "It's a invitation from the Iscariot; they want to meet with us."

Nobody knew what to think of this. In the end everyone decided to head to the meeting place which was at one of the museums in the city. They were soon there but the person wasn't. "What time is it?" Nicholas asked.

"It's just pass three," Logan replied, looking at his watch.

"They arrange this and still can't be on time." Everyone was looking up at one of the pieces of art at the moment. "Do you think it's a trap?"

"I doubt Iscariot would be bold enough to stage an attack in broad daylight," Cosmo replied. "Especially one in public, right in the heart of enemy territory." The females from the nether were told about the religious part of this. The group then heard voices and looked up to see two human males dressed in Vatican attire approach. These new comers then stopped as they realized that they were being looked at.

"I think we're a bit late," the first human stated to his companion in an Italian accent. He had glasses, long white hair in a ponytail, and the middle of his outfit was purple.

"It would appear so sir," the second agreed.

"Oh dear," began the human with glasses and began to approach. "Sorry to keep-"

"That's close enough," Nicholas cut him off with a growl. The person stopped. "What business does the Vatican have here? And why send the Iscariots, the dirtiest of their ditty little secrets?"

"How unfortunate. It appears our reputation has preceded us. Allow me to introduce myself." The guy took off his glasses. "My name is Enrico Lexwell. I'm head of the Iscariot Organization, it is an honor to meet you." He put on a bow that seemed to be of respect, but the male werewolf wasn't buying it.

"I really don't care who you are," the male werewolf responded and turned to face the human. "Just tell us what you want."

"There is no need to take such harsh tone," Enrico replied, holding up his hands as though to show innocence. "We didn't come all this way here just to pick a fight with you-"

"I don't believe you!" Nicholas snapped, turning to face the human. "You've done nothing but show contempt to our treaties. The incident with Fileson, which I'm sure you've heard, was inexcusable! He threatened the lives of my best friends one of which I'm dating! I barely managed to escape with my head still attached! And you have the gull-"

"Will you shut up!" Enrico shouted, crushing his glasses that were in his right hand.

"How dare you…" the male werewolf snarled.

"You really expect us to let you do as you please?" The male human's face had changed to that of anger instead of the kind one he had just a moment ago. "You're monster friends? If we had slaughtered two million of your kind or Protestant scum I would have not shed a tear! I'm here under direct orders from his Holiness. Otherwise, I would not bother with you filthy creatures! So just shut up and pay attention, you miserable flea bitten mongrel!"

"A mongrel?" came the voice of Napoleon who walked right out of the wall with Pachira by his side. "Nothing like Iscariot to inspire the fear of God. Such fearsome insults. So many years of your rambling… truly some things never seem to change."

"The great vampire Napoleon that Fileson clashed with," Enrico replied. "Another I've heard about. I don't believe I've ever seen you in person before." The human put on that same bow but this time everyone in the group could see it was of mockery. "It's a great pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Pleasure to meet you as well," the male replied. "And now I must say goodbye." He reached into the trench coat he had on and pulled out his gun. "You call my friend Nicholas here those things and expect me to let you live? I'm afraid I'm that I'm just going to have to put a bullet in you, you foolish little man."

"Oh how absolutely terrifying," Enrico answered, cracking his right knuckles. "How can a man be expected to deal with people who put a gun in their face? I think you'll agree that this turnabout is fair play. So why don't we make this fight interesting?" The human snapped his fingers. "FILESON!"

Everyone could see the said guy standing down the hall. He brought out his usual bayonets, and struck the one in the right hand into the ground. It actually created a crack in the floor. "As of me, and I shall give thee heathen for thine inheritance," he quoted. "And for the possessions, the ends of the earth." The human began to approach while still speaking. "I shall break them with a rod of iron, I shall dash them into pieces, like a poter's nest."

Enrico saw that Fileson was a bit more intense then needed be. "Be wise now the fore yee kings, be modest yee judges of the earth, serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with tremble."

"No!" Enrico stated. The other human ignored him. Napoleon also stepped up as well.

"Iscariot does not jerk when the enemy presents itself." Both got grins on their faces, weapons at the ready.

"Neither of us could ever back down in front of an enemy," the male vampire commented. His girl had suddenly disappeared from his side. "Come on then, Judas Priest!"

Fileson let out a laugh. "You won't be so lucky this time, vampire!"

"Stop; I'm ordering you to stop!" Enrico barked. The two weren't paying any attention.

"Hi there!" Pachira said, suddenly appearing, having used the shape-sifting rune to look like she was part of a tour. The female even had a group of elders with her. "Right this way everybody! Everybody on the tour, right this way!" She was leading them between the two guys. "Right this way…" Pachira then commented, nervous as can be. "We're walking…"

Seeing how long this was going to take and not wanting his girl to get hurt, Napoleon put away his gun. "This isn't the time or place for a fight," he commented.

"Yes, ye may have a point there," Fileson agreed.

"I'm going back to sleep." The human had his weapons put away. "Sometimes getting up in the middle of the day like this is exhausting." The two turned away and began to head in their own direction.

"If you'll excuse me sir, I'm going back to Rome," Fileson told Enrico. "Next time I swear, I will rip him to bloody pieces."

Nicholas let out a chuckle as the priest paladin left. "It seems we both have to deal with some rather difficult people." The werewolf then growled out the next sentience and glared at Enrico. "Well… are you freaking done, pig?"

"Oh yes, I am quite done," he replied weakly. "Now that the violence is out of the way, perhaps you'd like to join me in the cafeteria garden."

"Well after you." The two left leaving the rest to let out a sigh of relief. Pachira was pretty pleased with what she had done. They were soon seated at one of the many tables in the area.

"We are aware that you've been looking into two particular words in connection to your… recent trouble," Enrico said. "We also know that you haven't uncovered anything of vault."

"Yes, that's more or less true," Nicholas commented.

"Millennium Virus correct? I know that this is special operations business, but we do some information regarding the name Millennium." The human was tapping one finger on a briefcase he had. "Do you want our files? Do you really wish to know what we know?" The werewolf made no response. "Come on. Yes, or no?"

"Yes, please," Nicholas responded with a struggle.

The human let out a chuckle and opened the briefcase. "I give you Millennium." It was a grey colored book. The other male began to read as Enrico began to talk.

"It started many years ago, during the second World War. Nazi party loyalists were preparing to flee from Germany. An extraction operation began just as Allied Forces took the country. Understandably, they needed enough time to evacuate while still standing their ground long enough not to be considered traitors. The majority of these party members and soldiers ended up in South America where they found refuge with a number of Nazi sympathizers."

"Those survivors were the Millennium Group?"

"Yes," answered Enrico "Millennium also refers to the classified operation to move these individuals and supplies to South America. And the military unit who carried out the orders…" Nicholas then looked up as he got it. "Oh… you just figured out how we know all this. Yes! We helped the Nazis do it! The Vatican gave their full support and helped create the Millennium group!"

In a dark corner on the inside right by this area, two figures could clearly see what was going on and heard everything. One was a tall human with glasses that had multiple lenses, a blood stained lab coat, and dirty blonde colored hair. He spoke up in a German accent. "I think perhaps they're starting to put it together. They know about Millennium and it won't take long that they figure out the Virus part is also us."

A second one, the same who spoken long ago after the girls had been captured the first time just smiled. More of his features could be seen. He was shorter and fat with a while military coat and gloves. His accent was also German "Put it together you say? Nonsense. They don't know anything about anything yet." A wicked grin came onto his face.

"Is it my imagination, or are you enjoying this?"

"Enjoying is hardly the word for this feeling Doctor. I'm ecstatic! Positively giddy with anticipation! Just think about what a terrible bloody struggle awaits us! It will be the greatest struggle of them all! They will soon see!"

X

This information was shared with everyone else along with Leon. The meeting place was decided upon. Those from the nether were on a plane to Brazil the next day. They arrived safely and could see the city through the window including the big statue on top of the mountain as they landed "Well seems we've arrived," stated Cosmo.

"Yeah, you can tell by the statue of Big J right there," Nicholas said with a grin. "Jesus wants a hug!"

The plane landed smoothly and everyone headed towards the hotel where Napoleon and Pachira were staying at. The rest had to be at a different one not only so the group was a bit split up, but also because the vampires had gotten the last room at this one. Luckily for the male and female it was a penthouse at the very top of the building. So they would have a good view from above at the area. "Alright, seems everything's ready for both of you," Logan pointed out while the group was inside the room.

"I'm jealous," Uma pouted, seeing how the room looked.

"Can't be helped," her wizard boyfriend replied. "I think you'll like your room at the other place."

Outside the room a man in a grey suit was spying on the group. "This is Red Glove to White Sock," he said into a walkie-talkie. "The guests have checked into the hotel. I repeat, the guests have checked into the hotel."

The door opened up and the figured moved, spraying some powder to erase his scent from Nicholas and Liru's noses. The rest from the nether came out, but stayed so the male werewolf could discuss the game plan. "Alright, we'll wait for Leon and his partner here. They should be here within a few days. In the meantime we'll start our own investigation tomorrow. We'll take today off. It was a long flight after all here."

"I can hardly wait," Napoleon responded, sensing the figure that had left but not fast enough. The way the vampire said it made Nicholas's ears twitch. This guy heard the figure move as well and his eyes narrowed. Both their girls and the rest gave them a look of questioning but then shrugged it off.

"I can hardly wait," the male vampire repeated as the rest left him and Pachira.

Meanwhile Enrico had returned to Rome and was meeting with the Pope. The first human had explained what had happened to the second person. "I see," went the human while sitting on his high backed chair. "We seem to have found ourselves sharing common interests with those from the nether. It won't be easy, cleaning this mess from many years ago. I'm sorry I must always be asking you to perform such unpleasant tasks."

"Your Holiness," Enrico replied. "Please think nothing of such tasks; Iscariot is a blade to be wielded in what ever way you see fit. But I think we should let the monsters and heathens fight it out amongst themselves. With any luck, not only will they dig their own graves, but pay for the funeral as well."

Latter that night would be a big one to say the least. For some reason Pachira felt uneasy, to the point of needing Napoleon. She came out of the bedroom to find him in the main sitting area. She saw the look on his face. "Honey, what is it?" the female asked.

"There's something interesting outside," he replied. "Well… maybe not in my opinion."

Suddenly the lights in the room went out. Then the sound of a helicopter could be heard as the said vehicle came out, flooding the room with light from the spotlight it had. "WHAT?!" Pachira exclaimed and ran to the window. Looking out she saw there was a camera crew on it. Then looking down below she could see police had barricade the entrance, while civilizations and reporters were behind this, reporting on the situation. They could be heard.

"What is this?!" the female vampire asked. At that moment Nicholas was coming out of the bathroom drinking a glass of water to find Liru had the T.V. on to the same report. "Honey, you need to see this!" his girlfriend exclaimed.

"Tensions are running high as 30 minutes ago, two armed terrorists, a man and a woman, have killed several of the hotel staff and guests," continued the reporter.

"Hm?" Nicholas asked since his mouth was full of water.

"They have now situated themselves on the top floor and have taken over a dozen people hostage." A picture of Napoleon and Pachira came up. This was so shocking, the male werewolf spat his water out in a comical way all over the T.V. screen with a funny sound.

The rest that were in the same hotel as the werewolves came to the room. "Can someone explain what the hell is going on?!" Logan demanded. "I'm watching T.V. and see Pachira and Napoleon on the news!"

"I think it's the enemy," Aiko stated.

"You would really declare war against us?" Nicholas growled while looking out the window. "You bring this on yourself!"

Elsewhere Fileson and Enrico were watching this on their own "Let's see you dance, you freaks!" the paladin said.

"Now then… it's time for us to go to war!" Napoleon stated in his hotel room.

Outside the barricade a tent had been set up with other officials inside that were in contact with the swat group that was going to storm the hotel. "Our snipers are in place," stated one of the men. "The two swat teams are in position. We're go; all teams move in. The targets are both in the penthouse and are confirmed to be heavily armed. Extreme predijice is advised; shoot to kill. We are not taking any prisoners. I repeat, the terrorists are to be shot on sight."

"There, everything has been arranged as you instructed," said another man towards a figure sitting in a chair with his legs resting on the table. "Is there anything else, Mr. Dlhhambra?"

The said person was wearing a brown suit with a matching hat. He had a mustache on his upper chin while the skin was a tanned color. There was a cigar in his mouth. "No, no," he replied in a slight accent. "This is very good. I can think of no tasks for you at the moment. You're on your way to being granted entranced to the kingdom of immortality."

In the hotel the swat men had made it inside, securing all floors and the elevator. The humans made it to the door and with a count of fingers, they busted in. Pachira was hiding but Napoleon was out, his head turned to them. "So you finally come," the male vampire said.

The enemy let out yells and fired with their machine guns. Napoleon moved and was too quick. With hands and elbows, he knocked the weapons away and the humans unconscious. A little bit of blood did come out of some of them, but they weren't dead. The male vampire licked up what he could, figuring it might come in handy just in case. "They're down, you can come out, honey."

Pachira did so from a closest. She saw what had happened. "Wait… are they…?"

"Just unconscious. I would never kill humans that were ignorant like these ones here. Only those that are the enemy like working for Rindella are on my hit list. Now, prepare for battle."

Suddenly his phone went off. Checking it showed it was Nicholas. The guy answered. "Are you and Pachira alright?" said the werewolf on the other end of the line.

"Yes. Some swat team members have already come in here. I had to knock them unconscious. They'll be fine. But I'm pretty certain they're under control of Millennium Virus."

"Can't be helped," Nicholas replied. "For them and any other humans just knock them out. If you see any monsters like we've encountered kill those. If you run into their leader, question him. The rest of us are on our way."

"Right," Napoleon stated. "See you soon." He hung and brought his guns out. "Now Pachira my love; it's time. Don't fall behind."

"Right!" the female vampire answered.

The two opened the door to the penthouse and walked out. There were more humans here. With a nod, both moved and had them knocked out. Those who hadn't been were reporting this to their leaders, stating that nothing could be done. While nobody was beg killed, they were still freaking out at the speed of the two vampires. Dlhhambra was listening to this with a smile. He wasn't the only one as the short round man, the taller one, and a third one with tan colored skin in a military coat were also viewing this on monitors close by that also had speakers so they could hear what was going on.

"Is that it?" asked the human in the blood stained lab coat.

"Oh no," the short fat one replied with a grin. "The knocking out has only just begun. He's not even close to being finished yet."

"So how do you wish to proceed?"

"Well it's not fun yet, that's for sure. Who care how many of these little police people he fights. It's like sprinkling water over a raging fire. I know how to liven this up! Tell Dubalcain Dlhhambra it's time to attack!"

Meanwhile back in the hotel the rest of the swat team on that floor were running for the elevator. But they weren't fast enough and dealt with by being knocked out. Any blood that came out was consumed by Napoleon. The two vampires made it to the first floor. They could see the floodlights bathing the area. The male looked to his right and saw the final swat team members that had been sent in. With a quick move the humans were sent flying out of the building, shattering the glass that made up some of the entrance. Napoleon then stepped out, but told Pachira to stay behind. The male thought he could sense another vampire like them nearby and would deal with this one.

Those watching like Enrico had a twisted smile on his face as though he enjoyed the show. Fileson had his teeth clenched. The short fat man let out a laugh. "What a glorious spectacle without the bloodshed!" he stated. "I love it! I've missed my beautiful war so very much! Look at him; just like I was told and showed by Rindella's officer Sergei! Now where are the others I wonder? I can hear the sympathy of war. It's been so very long. The chorus of screams, rising from the pits of hell."

Napoleon then saw Dubalcain approaching after getting past the barricade. This was the second vampire he had sense. "Oh my…" the enemy male commented. "You actually didn't kill them. So the rumors about you being a human protector vampire are true." The second vampire stopped and put on a bow like Luke had. Napoleon starred down at him since he was at the entrance still, which had steps leading up to it.

"My name is Dubalcain Dlhhambra Mr. Napoleon. Though some people have taken to calling me… The Dandy Man."

"Fascinating," the first male replied sarcastically, but then took a serious tone. "Did these poor souls belong to you?"

"Oh. You're speak of those unfortunate men who are strewn about. Their superiors were fools. And so they allow their men to end up fighting against something they couldn't win against. Truly amazing what some people will do on the promise of immortality." Dubalcain held up a playing card, as though it was a weapon.

"Taking advantage of idiots; we both know there's no such thing as immortality," Napoleon said.

"No need to be cruel, they still served their purpose," stated the enemy. "After all how much energy do you have left to deal with me, Mr. Napoleon?"

"You're starting to bore me, cut to the chase. What are you here for?"

Dubalcain raised his arm and more playing cards fell from the sleeve. It was like they were being summoned. They began to form a wiring circle around the other vampire. "I'm here to take away your un-life Mr. Napoleon. Millennium Virus has given me the task of bringing you and your nether friends in. Well… at least samples of all of you anyway."

This circle then moved around Napoleon. The enemy took one of the cards and threw it at the vampire. It hit the area, causing an explosion of dust. It was clear these weren't ordinary and razor sharp. The second vampire grinned, showing off his pointed teeth. The dust cleared showing the first male had gotten a cut and part of the stairs were destroyed. "I get it," Napoleon replied. "There's absolutely no reasoning with you people. Which leaves me and the others no choice but to keep beating or killing until none of you are left standing. Didn't your masters learn anything from the time we destroyed Rindella?"

Dubalcain brought out more cards and threw this. This time Napoleon jumped up to dodge them. The first vampire landed and the enemy threw another playing card. Napoleon moved and the object collided with the barrier, causing a section of it to explode. Another card was thrown, causing another. The humans watching moved to avoid getting killed. At that point Napoleon fired with his guns. Dubalcain was able to dodge the bullets by moving his body. While not as fast as Luke, this second vampire had enough speed. The two ran side by side with the first male firing. The bullets kept missing until one found its mark going through the enemy's neck, blood spraying out.

"Aiyee!" Dubalcain began but then stopped as did the blood. His body began to morph into playing cards, showing it was a clone made of them.

"Tch!" the first male growled.

Suddenly he was knocked off his feet and onto the ground. Dubalcain was standing behind him. "And right into my trap!" he said with a grin an snapped his fingers. A ring of cards formed around Napoleon and were flung at him, creating an explosion of dust and stone from the street. The enemy smirked, but then his eyebrows went up. The dust cleared showing a hole, but no body. Dubalcain looked up and saw Napoleon had jumped onto the front wall of the hotel. The first vampire ran straight up it.

"Oh no you don't," the second male stated and jumped up. He also began to defy gravity by walking on the wall. "Napoleon the vampire, you're so disappointing!"

Back at the tent the humans were talking. "Mr. Dlhhambra is still in the middle of fighting!" one said.

"But if something happens to him, we won't get what's coming to us!" another pointed out. Nicholas and the others entered the tent.

"Hello boys," the male werewolf said and his group moved. The humans were knocked out. Then it was onto taking any papers and valuable information. Once this had been done and the bodies moved out, Cosmo placed a detonator. They walked out of the tent, then a few seconds latter, it blew up. This caused a commotion but they weren't noticed as they were disguised as some of the other humans.

"I guess that's one step closer to beating the enemy," Nicholas said with a smile. "Now then, were did they put that helicopter?"

Meanwhile Napoleon was on the roof, a trail of blood behind him. He had contacted Pachira to meet him up there and wait for the enemy. "I can't stop bleeding," he said. "Those cards of his must be very special. Magic playing cards. How interesting. You sir, Dandy Man, are very amusing." The male then looked up. "Hi."

The enemy had made it. "Are you ready for another round, Mr. Napoleon?" stated Dubalcain. "I bet they have a special place ready for you… in the deepest pits of hell." Napoleon began to chuckle. "What? Is something funny?"

"I'm just amazed, that's all. That you like Luke would be this strong." The first vampire stood up, his hair beginning to move like seaweed underwater. "New enemies appear from Rindella and others! Ones that need to be beaten. Yes, I know. You remind me of that insane human with sunglasses and his plains! You'll be the first to be taken down! For now it's time to play, Dubalcain! I'm going to make sure you squeal any information you have!"

"You expect me to squeal?" the enemy shot back. "Are you serious? Don't you see what is happening? If only the world were so simple. You really have gone completely soft in the head!" The second vampire threw two more of his playing cards. They hit Napoleon who had activated the same three ruins from before while more dust came out from hitting sections on the roof. The eyes on Napoleon's clothes appeared and then the dust swirled around his body, making him disappear.

"Trying to run again? Useless," stated Dubalacin and held up some more cards. Suddenly a shot came out of nowhere, knocking them out of his hand. Looking showed it was Pachira who had done so. She had a long-range gun that had been brought with the group for the mission originally. The female fired round after round while the second vampire used his cards as a shield to block the bullets. Soon Pachira had run out of ammunition. Tossing the gun aside, she picked up one of the cannons that had been used earlier and fired.

"GO TO HELL!" Dubalacain yelled and used one of his cards to slice through the large bullet in half. The two new pieces flew pass him, hitting the area, causing more smoke and stone to come up. "I've had enough of this!"

Suddenly he heard Napoleon from behind and saw his glowing red eyes and shadowy form. The enemy threw a card and it hit this. It disappeared but then next second another came with a gun at the ready. The second male was shocked and attacked again. The dust cleared revealing a massive blob of eyes, one black head of a hellhound like creature with the gun being held. It then dissolved. Dubalacain didn't know what to think of this and began to sweat with fear. Napoleon then appeared behind the enemy with a growl. His opponent spun around with a card ready. The first male caught the arm, while his right leg came out, hitting Dubalacain's left knee. The angle and strength was so much the limb not only broke, but was nearly torn in two. Blood and shards of bone came out.

The enemy felt extreme pain and the shriek that came out showed this. "This is the end of it!" Napoleon exclaimed, still holding onto the arm. The male's gun was gone. "Now you loose!" His left arm shot back and gathered up power for one final blow. The enemy let out a shot and got ready with one more card. The two vampires came in with their choice of weapon; one with his hand in a stabbing like motion, the other with the more effective one. The two met in a clash with the force of the blow being seeing. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then Napoleon's hand tore threw the card and kept going. Dubalacain's hand was split between the middle and ring fingers, followed by his arm. Blood, gore, and bone came out as the enemy felt unimaginable pain and cried out louder this time. Napoleon's hand also was shredded apart, but thanks to the blood he had before, it reformed.

The enemy began to fall but one hand from the first male caught him and held him up high. "And that's game over for you Dubalacain!" Napoleon stated. He then brought the second vampire up to his face that had fear on his. "Now then… it's time we get to the business at hand. I'm obliged to give you a full interrogation. So you're going to tell me everything you know. Well… you're blood will." Lifting up the enemy's neck, Napoleon bit down to start getting the information from the crimson liquid.

While this would mean that now the enemy was inside the male vampire as a familiar the series of images that came with him were far more useful. Napoleon saw the Major and Doctor along with Albert talking about plans for world domination. Another that appeared with them was a man with grey hair, and a grey military coat. The Rindella logo was pinned to his chest like a metal. A fourth man who had been watching was also seen but with more details. In addition to his tanned colored skin there were red eyes, white hair, and a dull green colored military coat being worn. There were a few others as well. There were also thousands of what appeared to be soldiers as well.

The body of Dubalacain suddenly burst into blue flame like Jan's had. They moved over on top of Napoleon. Pachira came running up and stopped when she saw the bloody mess nearby. "My god…" she whispered. Suddenly her boyfriend emerged, having using the newly acquired blood to survive as what remained of the second male crumbled away, leaving only some of the cards behind.

"What was that?" the female asked. Suddenly Nicholas and Liru appeared in a helicopter. The male werewolf had a human at gunpoint.

"Hey both of you!" he stated. "Can I offer you a lift somewhere?"

The two were taken away but all the information was shared with everyone. This would help latter on. For now, it was onto focusing with helping Leon and his mission. Little did they know that the enemy had seen this whole battle and had gone on to inform others of them. As for the Dandy Man's defeat this was no set back at all.


	21. Chapter 21

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 21: The New Threat

A couple of days latter the group met up with Leon and the person he was brining with. Now they were somewhere in the jungle, heading towards a village. There they would find a guide. The first male human had on a bit of camouflage to help blend in. It was just like old times; Leon hadn't changed a bit. At one point he stopped to take a breather. While Logan and Uma had casted a spell to fight against the heat and humidity, there was the problem of stamina for the human.

Leon pulled a couple of pics at out of his pocket. One of them had Javier Lidalgo's face on it. The guy had a beard and mustache, slightly longish hair, and sunglasses. This person was equally famous for his extravagant lifestyle. Following his sudden disappearance, the group found out that he had attempted to approach Rindella. They couldn't help but wonder what he was up to now. Those from the nether gathered round to take a look at the photos.

Suddenly a butterfly landed on Leon's shoulder, causing them all to look at it. This would be distracting as nobody noticed the snake sneaking up behind the human. It posed to strike and lunged. Suddenly a knife stabbing it caused the group to look back, startled. The weapon belonged to the second human in the group. The guy had a buzz cut, a hard face due to service in the military, and was quite muscled in the chest and arms. He took a drink of water from a container while holding up the knife. The snake was still attached to it but then shaken off.

"So, you think monsters and B.O.W.s actually exist?" he commented. "Oh wait, I'm in the presence of some monsters now. And all of you said you faced them before, huh?"

The guy's name was Krew. He was a soldier with the U.S. Special Operations Command. And had quite the resume of accomplishments in the field. But to him, after all he had been through, B.O.W.s, Cryptid… they were all the same. When first told about what those from the nether really were, Krew was skeptical, but once shown, his disbelief went away. Nicholas told him that monster did exist. Not just the kind humans could become, but real ones. Not all from folklore and tales from countries, but some of the classic ones existed.

"Our guide is in a village up ahead," Krew stated, holding up a map. "He'll take us to Ampario where Javier is hiding out. Come on, let's move."

The group soon made it to the village. But the place was deserted. "Pretty quiet around here…" Uma pointed out.

"Where is everyone?" Leon asked. Suddenly a radio could be heard somewhere stating the number of missing teenage girls had now risen to over 50. Cosmo saw some lost posters of them on a fence nearby.

"It's more than just girls that have gone missing…" Nicholas stated. "There's no one left."

The group slowly made their way forward. "Something's wrong," Krew pointed out. "It smells like… like a battlefield."

"I smell it to," Liru agreed. Her boyfriend nodded.

"A battlefield?" Leon asked.

"Yeah," the male werewolf said. "Like death."

Suddenly Krew spotted a nearby by person slowly walking towards them. "He looks hurt. Hey! You ok? What happened here?"

The first human noticed the second approach this newcomer. "Krew, wait! Something's not right with this guy."

The figure let out a familiar moan. The rest could see the glowing eyes, showing it was a zombie. Leon shot it down quickly. "Didn't see that comin'," the second male human said. "So this is what Rindella's virus can do, huh?"

"Yeah," Nicholas answered. "But there was something different about this one."

Liru turned and let out a shout. Two more zombies had appeared. Even when they were taken down, more slowly began to show up. "We'd better find that guide before it's too late," Logan stated.

The group moved out of the square only to find more enemies. These were all shot down. "Not bad comrade," Krew complimented after seeing Liru kill another zombie. "If that's the thoughest these bioorganic weapon things get, then we got nothin' to worry about."

Everyone kept moving, but it wasn't until they got out of the village area that tarantula like enemies began to show up. But it wasn't until these only with a few more zombies had been killed that Krew noticed something on one of them. "A snake tattoo," he said. "This is the mark of Javier's men, the Sacred Snakes."

"What is he doing with this virus?" Leon asked.

The path then went down towards the water's edge caused by a river. They noticed the water level was rising. The person they were looking for had control of a water gate. Some couldn't help but wonder if he knew they were coming. Then enemies began to show up including new ones that were piranhas. The amount of monsters then became too much, forcing the group inside a building. It was lucky they did, because upon exiting moans could be heard; the kind made by a human. They made it inside.

"That's our guide," Krew stated. Everyone went to the person. He was slumped against a crate and blood was everywhere.

"What happened?" Nicholas asked the guide, shaking him a little.

"That girl…" the male human gasped.

"A girl…?" Krew asked. "What girl?"

"She brought devils to this village. She escaped from Javier's mansion. I helped her. But then she…"

"Javier's mansion?" Leon asked.

Liru then saw the guide beginning to go. "Wait, where is she now?" the female werewolf stated. "Hey!"

The second male human in the group checked for a pulse. "Shit! He's gone. He said she escaped from Javier's mansion."

"Yeah," Leon agreed. "You think it was one of those missing girls?"

"The Sacred Snakes traffic organs on the black market," Krew explained. "Could have something to do with one of them, yeah. According to our report, there was no conclusive evidence linking the two, but… I think we'll need to track down that girl to find out for sure."

"Well now that our guide is dead… she could be our only chance to find Javier's mansion," said Napoleon.

"There should be a boat over by the church…" Logan pointed out. "Let's check it out."

The group left the area and had to make a choice in which path to take. The right was chosen. More enemies began to show up including amphibian ones. It wasn't much longer until the church was found. Before the group could approach, something massive erupted from the water. It was too fast to get a clear view, but somehow those that the thing targeted were able to dodge it. "What the hell was that?!" Krew asked.

"Where did it go?" Uma asked, scared, and got closer to Logan.

"I think it's gone," he whispered. Suddenly more amphibian like creatures showed up and all were shot down. From there it was into the church.

Upon entering the group heard the sound of a girl singing. There was a slight accent of the native language spoken here. Looking closer the girl had a long white bandage that started at the wrist and nearly went up to the right shoulder. She wore a simple white dress that was a bit sturdy. It was torn at the bottom and blood stained. She had fair skin, and long, light brown hair. She was sitting on a makeshift platform that was floating on the water. Krew then noticed a blob of some kind right in the water. "Guys!" he whispered with a jerk of the head.

The rest saw that it had glowing blue eyes. The skin was a dull grey color. Leon took aim with his gun. The sound of it being cocked alerted the girl. She stopped singing and turned her head to face them. The next second, she collapsed. The blob turned towards everyone, revealing it had been the thing that had attacked earlier. The eyes turned to red and the monster rose up, showing it's strange mouth. It looked like bent legs with a talon on each limb. The creature also had some tentacles as well to attack. "Fuck!" Nicholas snarled as he and Liru transformed. "Where do we shoot?!"

"This thing is huge!" Krew stated after getting over the quick initial shock of seeing these two changing. "How the hell are we suppose to kill it?!"

Cosmo ducked as a tentacle launched at him and fired a couple grenades. Everyone saw they managed to do a quite a bit of damage. The rest fired with their guns. The monster took a step back with a roar. Every time it tried using the tentacles it was beaten back. After a minute of this Leon decided it was time to move. "We'd have a better chance fighting this out in the open!" the human stated.

The rest followed him outside. The enemy followed by submerging underwater. They could see it coming on the outside. Every time it surfaced, the group attacked. Then the monster went under the water. "Where'd it go?!" Logan asked.

"Let's finish it off!" Nicholas yelled.

Suddenly the monster lunged out, and went after him. The thing managed to pick the male werewolf with a tentacle. He attacked with his katana and gun while everyone else fired. All this made the enemy drop the guy. "Shoot that!" Napoleon said, pointing up to the bell on top of the church. Cosmo did the honors with a well-aimed shot. The section came crashing down, right on top of the monster's head. It seemed to do the trick since the enemy fled the scene.

The group went back inside the church to the unconscious girl. "Guys, what the hell is goin' on here?" Krew said. "Have you fought these things before? Look… Fill me in. I need to know what you've been through. Everything."

The rest began, telling the entire story of how all this had started from that first mission that those from the nether had gotten involved in. The second human just listened, quietly. But the situation in the village was different than any from before. There were controlled B.O.W.s amongst the rest. Getting a boat, the group made their way upstream towards Javier's mansion. The man who could hold the key to uncovering this mystery.

The group found a boat big enough for them. Leo was at the motor, making the vehicle go as it traveled along the river. The rest were looking around, while Krew looked ahead. Suddenly the girl they had picked up stirred and quickly sat up. "You don't have to worry," the first male human reassured her, seeing this. "You're fine. We're not going to hurt you."

"We're the ones who saved you," Krew said.

The female human said nothing, but grabbed her arm that had the bandage around it. "You alright?" Nicholas asked, seeing this.

"So you're the girl huh?" Krew asked, turning to her. "The one from Javier's mansion?"

"The people in the village, what happened to them?" she asked.

"They're all dead," Napoleon simply replied.

"We're here on a mission looking for an American who had contacted Javier about a virus," Leon told the female human. "We need to find Javier. And we were hoping you could take us to Amparo." She gave a swift nod.

The boat soon arrived. "So that's Javier's… " began Nicholas.

"Yes… I escaped through there…" the girl explained. Everyone could see a huge white dam. They were soon inside the lowest level and in a tunnel. There was light to see.

"So if we follow this water channel, we should be able to get outta here," Leon said. "You haven't told us your name yet."

"Manuela," the female human replied.

"Please to meet you, Manuela," Nicholas commented. "Now from here on out, I need you to be more careful, alright?" The guy turned to look at her. "You must do as we say, no matter what."

"That means stay close if you wanna get outta here alive, kid," Krew commented.

"Yes," Manuela replied.

The group emerged in a rounded, open area that had pipes leading into the water that was in the center. Leon led the way in and looking up showed there was an opening where the sky could be seen. "This must be the Discharge Channel," Cosmo said.

"Wait!" Napoleon hissed and pointed. Everyone saw more enemy piranhas heading towards them.

"These little guys don't' waste their time, do they?!" Krew commented while firing. After they were all shot down, one zombie snuck up behind Uma. It was thanks to quick reflexes on her end that it was taken out.

"They just keep coming!" Nicholas snarled. "Let's move!" They tried to do so, but another enemy that could leap great distances showed up. It was skeleton thin with green and orange for the colors.

"Looks like he took his weight loss plan way too seriously," Liru commented. More enemies began to show up and it was time to head out. They went through a doorway and managed to close it.

"This place is a menagerie of freaks," Krew stated. "Javier must not like unexpected visitors."

"Manuela, how did you make it past all these things?" Leon asked.

"Wh-What do you mean?" she responded.

"It's just…"

"Come on kid, answer the question!" Krew snapped.

"I-I don't know," Manuela answered. "I didn't see any when I came through here earlier."

"That's… good to know," Nicholas commented, but didn't sound like it was.

"Wait." The statement made everyone turn to the female human. "Why do you want to find Javier so badly?"

"You saw the traps he set with all those monsters," Krew replied. "You really think someone like that should be allowed to walk free?"

"I suppose not."

Suddenly more zombies showed up and were all shot down. "We can talk about that latter, come on," Nicholas said.

"It's like a maze ahead," Manuela warned the rest. "You'll need to follow me."

The rest were on guard so they could protect her. They group then reached a series of stairs the female human had used before. There were a lot of them but they got to the top. Waiting for them were even more enemies. These things were quickly killed. It was then through doors and hallways that held monsters and eventually to an elevator. The group road it up to the top most level. Emerging showed there were at some kind of waterway inside the building. "I don't like it," Logan said. "It's too quiet."

"We're being watched," Aiko pointed out and the rest saw a camera on the wall.

The group began to cross a metal grate to the other side. That is until Nicholas noticed more water enemies heading towards them. In the commotion, Manuela was knocked over. "Manuela!" Leon shouted and dove after her. The two were sliding down a waterway in the room. He was able to grab her and then a ladder that was on the side. The male human pulled both of them out of the water while the rest fired at the monsters to protect them.

When they got out more enemies had to be taken care of. Slowly they went up since they were on guard. Leon and Manuela ended up walking past an entrance. The sound of firing made the male human look back for a few seconds to see the rest fighting off more monsters. Suddenly the female human let out a shout. Leon turned to see her backing away from another zombie. "Manuela!" the male human exclaimed and tried to follow. A tarantula and second zombie came out, forcing him to shoot at these things.

"Shit! What now?!" Nicholas cursed as he and the others caught up.

Leon didn't answer but ran into the room where Manuela had been forced into. There were large gears inside, ones that clearly worked the machinery here. "She's not here," the male human said. The rest were right behind him, just in time to help take out more zombies that appeared.

"Manuela?!" Leon called out. They then heard a familiar singing voice. "Manuela?! Is that you?!"

They saw her emerge from around a corner, clutching the arm that had the wrapping on it. "L-Leon?" she asked.

"Are you alright?"

"Thank god you're ok," Nicholas commented.

"I'm so sorry. I got scared and I-I…"

"What were you singing for, kid?" Krew asked. "You really wanna draw attention to yourself right now?"

"At night, whenever I got scared of the dark, my mother would sing to me," the female human explained.

"You were singing that at the church too, right?" Leon asked.

"Um…"

"It's not safe here," Liru pointed out. "We should keep moving."

Suddenly a voice on a speaker came on. It was right in the room. "Manuela…" It had a slight accent like the female human.

Everyone looked around in shock. "Wait, I know that voice," Krew stated.

"It's Javier!" Leon exclaimed.

"Please, my dear. Come home."

"Father!" she stated. This was shock to some.

"What?!" Uma stated.

Manuela suddenly ran off. "Hey!" Napoleon shouted.

"Javier has a daughter?!" Pachira stated.

"That doesn't matter now," Leon said. "Let's go after her!"

They followed her and shot down any monster that got in the way. They found her in the next room that had a waterway. She was looking up at a platform. They saw their target at this area. "Javier!" Leon exclaimed.

"Manuela," he said softly to his daughter. "All of this I've done for you." Everyone in the group looked at the female human who stared at the ground. "You need only to follow my directions for fifteen years. This will prevent the transformation." Manuela shook her head slowly while backing off. "But please, my dear. You must be patient!"

Suddenly Liru's ears twitched as she heard a sound. Krew did as well. "What the?!" he asked. Nicholas heard it to.

"The man who gave us the Leronica Virus told me it would work."

"The Leronica Virus?!" Cosmo stated, not believing it. Suddenly the shouts of Manuela made the group turn to see she was being restrained in the arms of one of Javier's men. He had a gun pointed at the group.

"These people cannot save you, my dear!" her father insisted. "Only I, your father, can help you now!"

Suddenly water came flooding in, taking the group with it. "Leon!" Manuela stated and dove in after them.

"Manuela!" her father cried. He couldn't see her as the water continued to flow. Still the statement about the virus had raised a question. Why had Javier given it to his own daughter? Why would he infect her? And how could she maintain her human form? How did she sustain it without transforming into something horrific, like say Steve?

Somehow the group managed to survive. Krew was the first to stir before waking up the others. "You ok?" Nicholas asked Leon after that guy regained conciseness. He was helped up.

"Not really, but we gotta keep goin'," the first human replied.

"Well that was a nice, refreshing dip, eh?" Krew asked.

"We need to find Javier," Cosmo said. He then took a look to the side. "The water's risen."

The group began to move forward. And with that, came the enemies. "It's dark, its wet, there's monsters…" Napoleon commented after shooting another down.

"Turning out to be one hell of a day, huh?" Pachira asked.

"Yep! Same shit as always," Nicholas agreed.

"At least I've got you here backin' me up, though, huh boys and girls scouts?" Krew stated.

"You're not gonna ask me to hold you hand, are you?!" Leon joked after shooting another enemy down.

"If only your aim was as good as your jokes."

The group then went through a door. "We'd better be careful," Liru said. It was dark in here so that meant the humans needed lights. "I can't believe Manuela is Javier's daughter…"

"I wasn't in the report," Krew commented. "Maybe she was from one of his mistresses."

"Regardless…" Leon stated. "She must really hate her father is she came through all this just to get away from him."

"Well we can ask her when we find her. But Javier is the one we're after. Not his daughter. Remember?"

"Yeah, you're right," Nicholas agreed.

Suddenly one of the very thin enemies appeared. It was sliced to bits by the male werewolf's katana. The walk down the hallway was short and it was then through another door. "We're somewhere near the dam entrance, right?" Cosmo asked.

"Yeah, this looks familiar," Uma said.

More enemies began to show up and were shot down. "Well I hope you got a good memory, 'cause I've got no clue where we are," Krew stated.

"Only one way to find out," Leon said, and opened another door. "Let's do this."

"That's what I wanna hear." The group was in another dark hallway. There were three different paths to choose from. The one on the left was chosen and the path led to the outside area of the dam. It was such a relief to see the sun and sky. But this didn't last long since after going up a flight of stairs it was back into the dark. But waiting for the group were new types of enemies. One of them were red colored zombies with Sacred Snake Tattoos on their chest. They also moved fast. These things were beaten and then after a bit more of walking got them to an elevator. They rode it up and find themselves back at the place where Leon had jumped in after Manuela.

It was here that the enemies began to swarm. The humans and monsters fired while running to the machine room. The door leading into it was slammed shut. They slowly went forward to the same entrance they had gone into before. Now it was shut with heavy metal doors. The group could see water leaking in. "Sounds like it's flooded in there," Liru stated after a twitch of her wolf like ears.

"We'll need to cut the water off first," Cosmo said.

"There's got to be a valve around here somewhere!" Aiko commented.

"Leon!" stated a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Manuela had caught up to them.

"Manuela?!" the male human said. "How'd you get here?!"

"I'm so glad that you're alive! I thought that something might have happened to you. It's all father's fault! I'm just glad you're…"

"You're not with Javier?" Nicholas asked.

"I ran away," the female human explained.

"Manuela…" Leon commented. "Did he… do something to you?"

Before she could respond the group felt a heavy shake and whipped their heads to the door that was holding the water back. "The door can't hold the pressure much longer," Krew stated. "We need to stop the water!"

"Look!" the female human stated and pointed. "The valves! Over there!" The rest saw them. She crawled underneath a pipe to reach them.

"Manuela, wait!" Logan ordered.

"This must be it. I think these will stop the water!" The rest of the group then saw a few enemies emerge and shot them down. While those were taken care of, Manuela handled the valves. Suddenly they heard the sound of Javier's voice on the income speaker in the room.

"Manuela has been located. Bring her back at once! Otherwise, it will be too late!"

"Looks like he found us!" Krew stated.

Suddenly more banging could be heard coming from a different door. "What the hell?!" Liru stated.

"Something is trying to get in," Leon said. "They must be after Manuela."

"So this is our only way out," Krew commented, nodding back to the door that had the water leaking in. The group quickly were there and found the female human already at it.

"It's still not opening!" Uma pointed out.

"But we stopped the water," Manuela stated. "Why won't it open?!"

Suddenly the doors did, much to the relief of the group. They ran out, not wanting to stick around when whatever was forcing its way in showed up. Everyone was back right where they had been washed away. Suddenly one of the very thin enemies came from nowhere. Logan and Uma blasted it with lighting. Then it was up a ladder on the other side. The group go up it and turned to look from where they had came. The thing had followed them. It looked like a humanoid with dull green and purple skin. Its two main arms were muscled and had sickle like weapons where the hands should have been. There were four smaller arms with the same kinds of weapon at the end of them. Two tiny arms were where the chest was and the head was insect like with mandibles.

"What the hell is that?!" Napoleon snarled.

"This place is just full of surprises!" Krew stated as everyone fired. The monster covered its head with the arms to protect that spot. While it was distracted, the group reached an elevator and rode it up. They found plant like enemies and the wizard and witch in the group used fire to burn a path through. Everyone then walked forward and found themselves outside again. There were stairs leading to the top of the dam.

"It'd be nice if we could finish this up before nightfall, huh?" Cosmo asked.

The group made their way up the stairs. There were other paths and even a couple trucks. "I don't see any hostiles," Leon pointed out after taking a look.

Suddenly the same enemy the group had seen before caught up to them. "Wishful thinking!" Nicholas snarled as he charged in with his katana, getting some good hits in.

"Damn, this thing is ugly!" Krew said as the rest fired. It was enough to kill the enemy.

"Move!" Liru suddenly shouted while dodging a sickle like blade. Another had appeared along with a third.

"Don't let them get too close!" Nicholas yelled, who came back in. "We can take them out one at a time!"

It wasn't much longer until the two monsters were killed. Everyone let out a breath. Leon then turned to Manuela. "Manuela, I need to ask you something before we find your father," he said. "Why are you running away from him? Why did Javier infect you with the Leronica Virus? And what did he mean by too late?"

"You know, I shouldn't even be standing here," the female human replied. "Given the circumstances…" She reached up and took off the long bandage on her right arm. Everyone saw what was underneath it. From the elbow to the wrist, where there should have been healthy skin, there was only dull green flesh that was veiny.

"The virus!" Nicholas whispered in shock.

"I was injected with it as part of my treatment."

"Treatment?!" Krew spat in disgust.

"It wasn't my fault!" Manuela stated. "My doctor diagnosed me with the same disease my mother had. He told me there was no chance of recovery. And all we could find out was that only people living in this area contracted it. It… it killed my mother. But somehow… I…" She trailed off but it left some questions; even if she told them everything. The Leronica virus was used as a form of treatment. And consequently, she recovered. It must have strengthened her cells. However, the virus can severely damage its host's brain cells and if incompatible, will take them over completely. Even the family who created it and their researchers were unable to control it. There appears to be no exception to this outside Javier's treatment of Manuela. Somehow, he has managed to keep her from turning into a monster.

The group made it right near Javier's Mansion. Leon was looking through binoculars at the entrance. He could see trucks for carrying soldiers. "Leon!" Krew said, causing the first human to look at him. The sun was beginning to set. The humans and monster met away from the female human. "We should take care of the girl before it gets too late. It's only a matter of time Leon… Before she becomes a threat."

"Javier knows something," the first male human stated. "He's been able to prevent Manuela from transforming." The group looked back to her and could hear her moaning. She was clutching her right arm. "I have to take her with me and find out how." Leon then handed a small tablet for the others to read.

"Anti-virus Weapon Protocol number 7600…" Krew commented. "You're on a special assignment for the President."

"My mission… is to eradicate this virus once and for all. And with your help, I intend to do just that."

"Count us in to help," Nicholas stated. "If it means stopping whatever any enemy has planed that uses something faced before, then they need to be taken out." The rest from the nether nodded.

"Well, I am a soldier," Krew said. "And if your orders are from the President, then I'm on your side." They all placed their hands together in a symbol to do it.

"Let's go," Leon stated.

"Time to kick some ass!" Napoleon said with a grin. The group descended towards the entrance and noticed guard towers as well.

"He sure went all out on security," Aiko pointed out.

"Maybe he doesn't like door to door salesmen," Kew suggested.

Suddenly Javier's voice sounded out on an speaker system. It echoed throughout the area. "Welcome home, Manuela. And to my guero friends… Please accept my sincere gratitude for returning my daughter. Now bring Manuela to me. And kill the others!"

The group saw zombies begin to appear. "There's so many!" Uma cried out.

"Get ready!" Cosmo stated.

The first wave of zombies were cut down. "So this is his army huh?" Liru commented.

"The Sacred Snakes…" Leon said.

"What has he done?!" Nicholas growled as one of the zombies blew up.

"He's strapped them with grenades!" Krew stated. "Then let's use them to our advantage!"

The enemies were mowed down. "Look, it's our welcoming party!" Uma said as more showed up.

"They shouldn't have!" Logan commented as the next batch were killed.

"This way!" Manuela ordered. "I think there's an underground passage!"

The group made their way over to it. The doors burst open, revealing more zombies that were shot down. Then they were quickly inside and slammed the door shut. Nicholas and Leon led the way into the dark hallway. "It's dark in here," the male human said. He and Krew turned on their flashlights to help see.

The group slowly made their way forward. To their left were jail cells that held zombies. These were clearly trying to get at the group, but were held back by the bars. "What is this, the B.O.W. storeroom?" Krew asked.

"Looks like it," Nicholas commented. "Well let's not wait around for inventory."

Suddenly Manuela let out a gasp as the doorways sealed shut. "Shit!" Leon cursed. "We're locked in!"

The bars of the jail cells moved, opening them up. "They're coming!" Cosmo said and began to fire. When they were all killed, the group was still stuck.

"They're must be a way out of here," Aiko commented.

Manuela went to one of the walls and pushed on a section. This opened a hidden door. "This looks promising…" Leon said.

Everyone stopped short as they saw it looked to be like the inside of some kind of digestive track. Worst there were bodies as well. "What the…" Leon stated.

"Javier's victims," Krew simple said.

"Why would he…?!" Manuela whispered.

"Let's keep going," Nicholas commented. "We need to find this guy." Liru shrank close to her boyfriend.

A few steps latter found the group with a choice. "Which way do we go?" the female werewolf asked.

"Let's try this way," Krew said, pointing to the left. This lead to a dead end but there were crates that had stuff in them. But after this stuff was picked up, enemies began to emerge. They were all killed. The group went back and tried a different route. It was like the same prison holding area from before; dark with cells. Upon stepping in, more zombies came out and were shot. When the last fell, the doors began to close. Moving quickly, the group managed to make it before they were trapped again.

"That was close!" Uma stated.

"Look, a ladder!" Aiko commented, pointing it out. Pachira and Napoleon led the way up it. The group emerged on the outside, inside a courtyard of the mansion. Then they noticed some dead bodies in the area.

"Who are these guys?" Krew asked.

"There were my doctors…" Manuela answered in a whisper. "It's my fault… I made them tell me how they cured my illness… and then my father…"

Before anymore could be said, enemies began to show up. They were all killed. "So where the hell is Javier?" Krew asked.

"There is one place I could look. Somewhere I was never allowed to go," the female human answered.

"Take us there," said Leon.

She led them through a door. Upon entering the next room, they saw they were in some kind of greenhouse. But the sheer number of plants made it seem otherwise. 'What is this?" Krew asked.

"It's a greenhouse," Manuela explained.

"More like a botanical garden." Suddenly Nicholas noticed the huge plant in the middle of the room. It was dull in color and had huge white vein like structures on it.

"What the hell is that?!" he asked. Something about it didn't seem right. Before anything more could be said about that, Liru spotted another of the tough enemies with sickle like weapons.

"What?! Not again!" she exclaimed. The enemy was quickly killed.

"Come on!" said Manuela. The group slowly went forward and climbed up some metal stairs that lead to a scaffolding. This went around the entire area. A few enemies showed up and were killed. It wasn't until after this that some zombies and another enemy with two sickle like weapons for the hands came up. Once these had been dealt with it was onto a door that would take the group elsewhere.

Entering showed it was some kind of hallway. "You okay?" Leon asked to Manuela.

"Yes," she responded.

They found an elevator and rode it down. Emerging, they saw they were in another hallway that had a couple zombies. These were quickly killed. After going through a door, the group found themselves in some kind of huge warehouse. "What is this place?" Liru asked.

"Well it sure ain't the guest room," Krew said.

Suddenly enemies began to show up. Everyone shot at them, putting them down for the count. Only when the last one was killed, did Leon notice a freezer like area. "What's in there?" he asked. "I've got a bad feeling about this." The guy took a look behind the thick plastic sheets. Looking showed it was an operating room. Jars of organs were on the walls.

"These are all human organs," Logan stated as the rest of the group came in. Leon then noticed in another corner something hanging. Going over he found a female corpse, the same age as Manuela. The human recognized the face from the missing posters seen in the village before.

"The missing girls," he stated. Suddenly Manuela let out some moans and went to her knees. She then clutched her arm as they turned to pained gasps. "Manuela!"

"Her organs must be transplanted regularly," said a familiar voice. Looking showed it was Javier.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nicholas growled. He and Krew had their guns pointed at the enemy.

"It helps with the pain, keeping the virus at bay. But that's only for the first 15 years."

"If you had just let me die… none of this would have ever happened…" his daughter whispered.

"No…" her father responded. "I couldn't just watch you die. In nature, the predators who prey on others only grow stronger and thrive!"

"You crazy, selfish, old fool!" Leon shouted.

"Considering how you brought my daughter back, I will grant all your deaths meaning…" Javier said and backed out of the room. A wall closed so there wasn't a way out that way. A roar then could be heard and something huge came landing down, knocking the selves in here apart. Looking showed it was the enemy that had been faced in the village. But now it had a harder exoskeleton and was a different color.

Everyone but Manuela rushed out to face it. "Didn't we fight this thing back in the village?!" Krew asked.

"Yeah, but it's different in looks!" Nicholas stated as everyone fired.

"Manuela, don't come out!" Leon ordered with a yell. "Stay in there!"

The shots seemed to not do anything this time. It was due to that exoskeleton. The monster launched forward with a bite. Leon was able to dodge it but got knocked to the ground. "Damn it!" he stated. "How're we suppose to kill it now?!"

Looking up showed the enemy had jumped to a higher level. The mouth opened, dripping some kind of liquid. Nicholas who was under it, moved out of the way. But not before managing to fire some shots and saw that this time a little bit of damage was done. The werewolf moved far enough back for Cosmo to use a grenade. As soon as it exploded, he fired with a machine gun. A bit more damage was done to the monster. The creature let out a roar and fire some kind of sharp spike like projectiles. The male werewolf used his katana to deflect them away. He then transformed into his werewolf form to get some more speed.

Liru then looked to the side and saw some crates that formed a way up to the level where the enemy was at. "We can climb those!" she said, pointing.

"Come on; hurry!" Aiko said and lead the way up. "Forgive me…" the female android whispered and fired along with her guy. The monster spat out more the liquid. It was deflected back each time. After a number of this, Krew managed to get a shot on it, making the enemy hesitate.

"Go! Now!" the second male human stated. The group jumped up to a platform that was a bit higher up.

"Let's try taken' it down from here!" Leon said.

"How do you like that, huh?!" Krew stated to the enemy as this time it was clear the shots were beginning to do some real damage.

The monster then jumped to the floor below. "Givin' up already!" Nicholas taunted it. He then moved and managed to land right on the thing's back. "Got you now!" The male werewolf fired a hail of lead into the weak spots. The monster managed to shake him off, but the guy was able to roll and quickly get back on his feet. Looking showed that the exoskeleton had taken on a reddish hue. He could see the eyes had turned to glowing red.

The rest of the group joined him. "We need to slow it down somehow," Napoleon said.

Suddenly they heard familiar singing, stopping the enemy. Looking showed Manuela had come out and was the one doing it. "Manuela, get outta here!" Leon shouted.

"Manuela!" stated her father on a speaker. "Stop singing!"

The female human suddenly did as her arm caused pain for her again. She went to her knees. "I'm ok!" Manuela said while gasping with pain. "I don't know why, but if I sing this song, it won't attack me."

The monster approached her. "Oh shit!" Nicholas exclaimed. "Guys, let's go!"

The rest of the group ran and stood between the enemy and Manuela. They fired and did some damage before climbing up the crates again. "Son of a bitch!" Krew cursed as they saw the enemy move.

That meant the group had to as well. "This thing's really pissin' me off," Logan said with anger on his face.

Suddenly the tail the enemy had rose up and shot some kind of spikes at them. Nicholas quickly deflected them away. "Go to hell, god damn it!" Krew shouted.

"Come on, we can do this!" Leon stated. The firing was intense. Finally though, the enemy fell over and didn't move.

"Did that do it?" Aiko asked. They all came down.

"Javier's gone," Uma pointed out.

"We gotta go after him," Napoleon commented. The group began to walk pass the corpse of the monster. Suddenly they stopped as some more spikes came out, just narrowly missing their feet. Krew turned and saw another being shot at him. He tried to fire, but the bullet grazed the projectile. It got him in the left arm and the male human let out a gasp of pain.

"Krew!" Leon yelled. He and the rest saw the monster begin to rise up. Everyone fired but Krew had a savage look on his face. The enemy let out a roar as the bullets tore threw it. It then fell to the ground with a final crash. Krew removed the spike from his arm and grabbed the wound, which was bleeding.

"You ok?!" Uma asked.

"It's nothing…" he growled threw clenched teeth.

Manuela slowly came over to the body of the monster. One of the tentacles it had slowly reached out for her, almost like a parent reaching out to their child. And the female human realized what this thing really was. "Mother?" Manuela asked. The group saw the eyes loose their light and close, but not before the creature shed a tear. It then went still.

"I don't want to live if it means other have to die…" Manuela said, on the verge of tears. Logan came over to Krew and took a look at his arm. His wand came out and it began to glow. The wound closed up.

"You can fix this can't you?" the human asked.

"I've done what I can," stated the wizard. "I'm sorry but… I was able to stop the bleeding and make it so your arm can move. But I can't fully heal it. Something about that spike must have done something. Even I have limits to what I can do with my magic. Some wounds just can't fully be healed." Krew said nothing, but his mind was racing of what to do in the future.

Meanwhile up in the garden, Javier had arrived. He walked up to the giant flower in the middle and stopped, let out an evil chuckle. "I should have done this sooner, Hilda…" he said, turning to look at a statue of a woman holding a child. It was meant to represent his dead wife. The human dropped his gun to the floor.

"Stupid humans and monsters. You think you can defeat it, don't you?!" He got closer to the plant. The machines that were used to monitor it suddenly went haywire, showing it was alive and active. "But you forget that when you look into the depths of the abyss…" The head opened up and moved down towards Javier. "… it swallows you whole." He held his arms out as though accepting the plant. Tentacles began to emerge and the petals could be seen showing the color was sickly and not naturally.

Down below the group were looking around and realized something. "We lost Javier," Leon stated. "We need some air support!"

"Let's go!" Nicholas said.

Before one step could be taken, something massive shook the entire building. Everyone felt it. "What the…?!" Liru asked.

It happened again before a massive one caused a ton of dust and derby to appear. Everyone coughed and had to wait for it to clear. But during it they hear some kind of roar, but unlike one they had heard before. Then as the dust cleared, they heard the sound of some kind of tentacles. Looking up showed some kind of grey color limb with tooth like spikes on it. The tentacles it had were brown in color. "Wh-What the…?!" Leon exclaimed.

"Where the hell did this thing come from?!" Logan asked.

Nobody spoke but fired. They even deflected the tentacles that tried to get them. It only took a minute to make the thing stop attaching. "Did we kill it?!" Cosmo asked. The answer to that was part of the thing rising back up through the hole it made on a long limb. A huge trail of blood flowed out from where it had torn away from the remaining part that was left behind.

"Ah!" Manuela cried. "What is that?!"

"We're gonna need some bigger guns!" Krew stated. "I say we fall back for now and recoup before moving on."

"Agreed," Leon replied.

The group saw that the way out was blocked. But there was another hole in the wall. Aiko was the one who pointed it out. "A hidden passage…?" Cosmo asked.

"Looks like this is our only way out," Nicholas said and lead the way.

Luckily the place had plenty of light to see. "What the hell is going on up there?" Napoleon asked as they got closer to the entrance. Suddenly the sound of a tentacle breaking through stone made the group turn to see just that behind them. They ran for it and dodged another one. Soon they were back at the entrance where they had come from. Manuela gasped in pain again, clutching her arm.

"Manuela!" Leon stated with worry. The group then made it to the surface, after seeing she was fine and coming along.

Upon emerging, the places where the zombies had been held were tossed to the side, sending up clouds of dust. "What the…?!" Leon asked.

"Fall back!" Nicholas yelled. "Go!"

"Take cover!" Cosmo shouted as he saw something coming in. In the dust some kind of claw foot could bee seen right where the werewolf had been seconds before.

"Is that a B.O.W. too?" Krew asked.

Another crash made everyone fall to the ground. It then stopped allowing them to look up and see what had caused it. The thing let out a roar and they could see how big it was. It had multiple legs along with some kind of skull like head. Tentacles that were a dead brown color could be seen from it. The body was a mass of spikes and more dead brown like flesh. One of the limbs ended with a sharp sickle like end. The other had a claw like hand that opened and closed.

"It's huge!" Krew gasped loudly. "What the hell is it?!"

"Behold!" the monster stated in a familiar voice. "The true power of the virus!"

"Father!" Manuela stated.

"He's become one with the plant!" Logan said.

"Come to me, Manuela. Let me take away your pain!"

The group began to fire at the head and body. They could see the enemy taking damage. At points they had to avoid the blade like arm and crushing claw. The monster just made it easy by standing there with the rest of the body. It was an easy target. Even so, this was getting old fast. "We're getting nowhere!" Krew stated. "We can't do this!"

"What are you talking about?!" Nicholas replied. "It's clearly taking damage. This is too easy!"

The claw like end of the weapon came down again along with the sickle like one, knocking the group to the ground. Manuela fell to her knees due to the pain in her arm. She then looked up. "I understand now," she said. "I feel this pain because I am still… still human! But if I were to no longer feel pain… Then that would mean… that I…" She went silent but then shook her head. "No! I choose… to die a human!"

Manuela stood up, facing her father who was now a monster. She ran towards him and everyone else noticed. "Manuela!" Leon shouted and ran after her. "Don't!" Krew stopped firing and looked on. Before the claw like end could come down and crush her, Leon grabbed her wrapped arm and threw them out of harm's way. Krew came in for a closer look as did the monsters from the nether. A different leg that ended in a spike came down. Manuela threw Leon out of the way and raised her right arm. It burst into flames like what Alexia had done before. A barrier of fire appeared around the two humans. The leg of the enemy was burnt away and the monster let out a roar of pain. The head turned to look at the female human. She stood up, showing the fire had burned away the bandages. Looking closer showed it was her blood that was used and it was burning.

"Manuela, are you…?" Leon asked. She turned to look at him.

"I'm still here." Krew looked on at this, his mind racing. The rest were shocked by this.

"Impossible…" Nicholas whispered. "She's actually in control of it."

"Krew, Nicholas!" Leon yelled, snapping them back to reality. "Focus!" The enemy was on the attack again. "Get in closer it's harder for him to get you!"

"Nice plan…" the werewolf replied. "As long as he doesn't crush us first!" He let out a yell and transformed. Liru followed suit. Everyone then went under the enemy and could see the underside.

"Shoot it there!" Manuela said and threw some of her burning flood at one of the joints of the legs. It worked, but looking at the female showed she was in pain again and clutching her right arm.

"Hurry!" she gasped and went to her knees.

"On it!" Uma replied.

"Aim for the join and he won't be able to move!" Logan stated.

"Easier said than done!" Krew commented. One of the tentacles went underground and was burrowing towards the group.

"Come on!" Leon commented. "This should be a piece of cake for you!" Everyone was able to dodge the flailing tentacle's attack after it emerged.

"On any other day!"

The group then fired at the joint until Aiko noticed something happening on the underside of the enemy. "What the…" she said. Everyone else looked and could see sections open up like flowers realizing some kind of huge spores. These were all shot down before the joint was fired at again. Then it was destroyed.

"Finally! One down!" Nicholas stated.

"We can't keep going like this for much longer!" Napoleon pointed out.

"Let's take out the rest!" Pachira said.

The group moved onto the next joint. While the rest did most of the work, Manuela helped as well. Leon could see it was putting a strain on her and the amount of blood loss was reaching a dangerous level. "Manuela, stop!" he told her.

However it didn't take much longer for the next joint to be destroyed, sending the enemy to the ground. "Fool!" Javier said after laughing. "I can regenerate! And every time I grow stronger! Everything I devour becomes a part of me! And so will you, Manuela."

"We'll never let that happen!" Leon shot back as everyone ran towards the front of the boss. They saw the face open up to reveal a hideous mass of flesh and teeth. In the middle of it they could see Javier's face, and his left arm. The other was a long limb.

"Witness my divine power!" Suddenly the mound began to twitch. "Wh-What is this? What's happening?! My body! Leronica… It's consuming me! Why?!" The flaps of the head closed in on him.

"Father!" Manuela cried.

"This virus is taking over!" Cosmo stated.

"I knew there was no way anybody could control it!" Leon said.

Now the enemy was on the offense, flailing about. Everyone fired at every opportunity with everything they had. Even Manuela, despite the fact Leon thought she was loosing too much blood. But with one shot from her, the rest were able to make the head of the monster open up and crash to the ground. "Let's finish it!" Nicholas stated, drawing his katana. He, Leon, and Liru rushed forward. They saw that only Javier's face was visible. "Kill me…" he moaned. With a shout, the two werewolves and human attacked. She stabbed with her claws, Nicholas with his katana, and Leon fired. The creature let out roars as blood gushed from the limb. It flailed about before falling with a crash. A few seconds latter, the body burst into flames.

A bit latter a helicopter came to pick up the group. They boarded, unaware that a familiar enemy with sunglasses had looked on, seeing the whole thing. He then walked away. The group in the meantime were on the way back. The sun was truly setting and they could see the smoking remains of the enemy that had been killed. "I should've died…" Manuela said. "With my father…"

"No, no one should have died down there," Leon replied, looking at her. "Besides, you've got an obligation to live. For the sake of the girls living inside you." She nodded in response.

Manuela was latter taken into custody by the U.S. Government. She was put under strict surveillance…. But there weren't any reports of any changes to her body. Krew's arm never fully healed and he was forced to leave the army. Where or what he did after that, nobody knew. Just like nobody knew why Manuela never lost her conscience. Could it have been something genetic? Or had she been sustained by the land that was so rich with life? However this was less of a concern as soon something else would come up.


	22. Chapter 22

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 22: The Fall

Six months had passed since dealing with Javier. Those from the nether had kept up with Chris and Jill. From those two humans those from the nether found out more about Rindella. Their stock plummeted with U.S. government inquiries into their involvement in that city incident. Before long, they were able to redirect responsibility for the incident. Part of the blame was cleverly shifted to the same government. Rindella had strong ties and deep pockets, thus they were able to drag out the legal proceedings. Over time, it appeared that all evidence of Rindella's involvement had vanished with the missile touchdown. Even all the files that had been picked up before hand had little to no effect with this.

Then the news that Rindella had a base of operations in Russia where they were working on a new B.O.W. came in. They were preparing to arm the unstable regions of the world with their bio weaponry. Chris and Jill had joined a regional biohazard contentment unit and had hear the rumors about this nightmarish facility. The monster from the nether had been allowed to join in on the mission due to their experiences. They along with the human plunged in to shut it down. It now found them riding with each other and other people in helicopters. It was snowing over the area of Russia and all were dressed for the weather. Reunions had already been dealt with before this point.

The pilot of their helicopter was able to spot three black masses moving on the surface, even in the snowfall and grey, night sky. Using machine guns, they were targeted and fired at. All three were torn to shreds. Those riding in the back heard it and looked up. "Bioweaponry spotted," the piloted said through a communicator so they could hear him. "They've already made it to the surface."

"Everybody prepare for landing," Chris stated. "Stay on guard. We can't afford any mistakes."

The helicopters soon reached the base of operations and grapple lines were readied. The vehicles then stopped. "I really hope this new bio-weapon is just a rumor," Jill said to Chris before he could jump down.

"We'll just take out whatever they throw at us," he replied. The male human along with her and those from the nether jumped and landed. Looking up showed that the outside of the base was covered by snow. Pipes and other factory like objects were here. And there were already zombies.

"Enemies already huh?" Nicholas commented. "Time to do this."

The zombies that greeted them were all shot down quickly. "Let's move it!" Chris stated when they were killed. The group went up a set of stairs and had to take out zombie dogs. It was then down a ladder to a different part of the main area and down some more stairs.

"Enemy sighted!" went a voice on the communicators which was another solider. "Go!"

Down here there were pipes and it was a tighter area. Which meant the enemy here were even easier targets. It didn't take much to shot them down. While doing so Chris and Nicholas's group heard the cries of one soldier as he was killed on their communicators. They kept going until there was a fork in the road. "I wonder what's down in there," Liru said.

"There could be anything in there," Chris pointed out.

"We can infiltrate down below or secure the stairs," Nicholas commented, looking to the left to see the second option. There was a ladder that led down to the first option. "They might not suspect an attack from below."

Chris led the way down the ladder. "It's dark down here," he warned. "Keep on your toes."

While those from the nether had no need for flashlights, the humans did. They turned them on and everyone saw there were zombies down here. All of the enemy was killed. The group moved forward and here a new kind of enemy showed up. It was dull white in color and looked like some kind of walking spider. More began to show up after the first were killed and also shot down. Finally after navigating down the halls and taking out the enemies, the group finally went up some stairs that led to the inside.

"This is the place," Chris said. The area was in a hexagon like shape that also had enemies.

After these were taken out the group was able to head to the middle of the room. The symbol for Rindella was on the ground and there were stairs on the sides that lead up to the higher levels of the building. Suddenly the sound of something activating go their attention. They saw a huge hook that was used to life heavy crates heading toward them. With a shout they all jumped out of the way. Despite the fact nobody was hurt, more enemies showed up.

It was a mad house shooting them all down, but somehow they managed. The corpses were in piles by the time every enemy was killed. When they were the group was able to take a breather and Jill noticed something. "Guys, something about this floor…" she said after crouching down to take a closer look.

"Yeah, I noticed," Chris replied. The human held some kind of deceive in his hand and a paper in the other. After flipping a switch, the floor began to move down, like some kind of giant elevator. Everyone got in position and was heading down deeper.

"This place…" Nicholas growled. "It's a nightmare…"

"Abandon hope…" Napoleon said. "It's ending here and now!"

The concealed elevator they were riding led to a point hundreds of yards beneath the Earth's surface to an imposing facility designed with the exclusive purpose of mass-producing B.O.W.s. "Up to their old tricks I see," Chris said as the elevator stopped.

"Yep, got their sticky fingers in ever pot," Nicholas agreed. "This sure went down deep."

"It's starting to look like the right place," Jill commented.

"We've only just learned of this place," Pachira said. "I'm willing to be it's hiding something important."

"Yeah, they wouldn't build all this for nothing," Napoleon agreed.

"Just from the size of the facility, it's obviously not just some warehouse," Cosmo commented.

Enemies started to come out and all where shot down. Then it was through a door to the right. Looking again in that direction saw some kind of shower. Chris knew what it was but surprised. "A decontamination shower?" he asked.

The group went through it and found themselves in another hall. "What do you think of the rumors about a new B.O.W.?" Uma asked.

"I'm not sure," Nicholas replied. "But I'll bet we'll find out soon enough."

Now they were in a longer hallway. Enemies began to emerge and all were shot down. Then after going through another door, the group found themselves at a place that had a walkway that was partially submerged underwater. "I love our choices," Logan said sarcastically. This was due to the fact that there were two paths. The right one was chosen.

"It's moving so fast…" Aiko commented as everyone carefully went into the water so they wouldn't be swept away.

"If we fall, we're as good as dead," Jill stated.

Suddenly a zombie like shark came charging from the water. Everyone fire to make it back off. But then they saw there were more in here. Moving quickly, they got out of the water and through another door. Here they entered a room that had a huge area that had a fire in it. A rail on the celling was transporting some kind of containers. "Those things are getting moved," Liru said while pointing to them.

"Better check them out," Nicholas stated.

Enemies then came out and had to be shot down. As soon as they were they saw the containers were being destroyed in the fire. "Why are they destroying them?" Chris asked.

"This must be a disposal facility," Cosmo stated. Suddenly enemies began to show up and were shot down.

"What the?!" Uma asked. "Why would they destroy their own products?!"

"So anything that doesn't pass the test gets toasted?" Aiko asked.

The group kept going forward. Only this time they had to beware of falling containers that held monsters inside that were still alive. They were almost out of this room when someone contacted them. "Factory secure… many casualties."

It was then through another door. Here the hallways was grey in color. After taking a right, enemies began to show up again and all of them were killed. "With this many of them, we must be getting close!" Chris said.

"It's the final stretch," Jill commented. "Let's move it!"

The two humans then went into a room that had glass walls and light green colored lights in them. Before those from the nether could join, the door closed, trapping Jill and Chris. "SHIT!" Nicholas shouted when he saw this and some green lasers turn on. The werewolf pounded his fist on the door. "COSMO, HACK INTO IT NOW!"

The male android found a terminal and began to work as fast as he could. The lasers began to move and two humans inside were able to dodge them. When they landed the lasers turned off and the doors opened. "Great work!" Aiko said to the male android. "That was too close!"

"I didn't do that!" Cosmo responded.

Those from the nether rushed in. "You guys okay?!" Uma asked.

"Yeah," Chris responded. "The security system's active?!"

"That must mean we're getting close to something important," Jill said.

The group was on edge as they went around a corner but saw no enemies. However upon entering the next room, they saw dead bodies. Suddenly zombie monkeys came out and these were killed. Then other enemies began to emerge. "How many of these things are there?!" Napoleon snarled aster shooting at another monster.

"Looks like they built up quite an inventory," Chris said.

Finally the last were killed and then went through another door. So far it was like plunging down into the depths of hell itself. Little did the group know that they were getting closer to the B.O.W. here. Another elevator was found. "Looks like we're pretty deep inside," said Jill.

"It's time to finish this place off!" Nicholas stated. The guys got onto the elevator and they could hear the sound of siren going off in the place. The platform began to move down. Suddenly enemies that weren't the regular zombies began to drop down to attack. These were all killed and then it wasn't long before the elevator reached the bottom floor.

The group walked through a door and found themselves in some kind of control room. All the computer screens were red and had the word alert on them. More enemies began to show up including the zombie kind. The group took care of these things quickly. It was then up a flight of stairs. But here a trap was sprung. Uma took a step forward and broke a laser beam. Right above them a platform holding some kind of cylinder shaped containers to fall. Everyone dodged them by jumping down to the lower level. "Whew! That was close!" the witch stated.

"Could you please be a little more careful honey?" Logan asked.

The group then looked and saw more enemies, including the plant kind come in. Cosmo fired a grenade, which took care of them. More began to show up, but they couldn't stop any of the group. But before they could go through the next door, more enemies showed up. "Enough already!" Pachira exclaimed after taking down one of them.

"Let's just clean them up and move on," said Napoleon.

When they were all killed the group saw there was a choice again. The left path was chosen. However upon going it became clear that there would be more choices. "It's just the same room over and over," Liru stated.

"It must be set up this way to confuse intruders," Nicholas commented.

"What could be up ahead?" Aiko asked.

The group kept moving, defeating whatever stood in the way. They even found room that had a bunch of guns and ammunition. They took what they could grab. Then at last they reached some sliding doors. After these opened, the group was running down a hallway that had even more. After a bit they came to a stop and found themselves in a circular room that was white with bright lights. There were small curved pillars in the center. At the top was some kind of metal structure. "Where are we?" Chris asked.

"It's probably where they test B.O.W.s," Jill said.

Suddenly a voice with a Russian accent came on a loud speaker. "We don't get many visitors here. Welcome! As fellow soldiers, I'm sure you understand the thrill of battle and the rush that comes with the feeling of being alive after a good battle."

"Another Rindella psycho," the male human stated.

"Introducing the latest in Rindella's product line." From above a blue skinned humanoid descended. Everyone drew their weapons. "Codename Ralos. A pinnacle of biological weaponry, all controlled by the Crimson Queen computer. The ultimate weapon." The thing stood up and everyone could see it had grey armor on it along with a rocket launcher that was huge. The weapon could fire four rockets. The left hand only had four fingers that were in a square formation. The height of this thing was much taller than a human, the exact height of a titan.

It let out a growl and everyone could tell it was going to attack. It took aimed and fired with the launcher. "Rockets?!" Chris exclaimed as he shot it down, causing it to explode.

"We need to shoot them down!" Jill said. Cosmo fired a grenade and that seemed to do some damage. The rest took cover behind one of the pillars.

"So this is what they've been developing!" Nicholas commented.

"What should we do?!" Liru asked.

"Find a weakness!"

The group came around and fired at the enemy. Some of their shots did little damage but a couple actually managed to knock some of the armor plating off on the left arm, exposing more blue skin and what looked like a glowing center. They began to fire at it and the enemy faltered. They could see a couple blue tentacle like objects begin to emerge out of the left arm. The group could see that after firing again, the opponent was taking damage. "I hope this is wearing it down!" Chris stated as he moved out of the things reach since it had come forward and tried to grab him.

"He's a tough one!" Jill stated and shot the enemy's armor of the face revealing a humanoid like head that all the titans had in their regular forms.

The enemy began to run and fire rockets one at a time. With careful shots, these things were shot down. The creature ran to try to get another of the group in the grasp of its left hand. That person moved and the rest fired. "Isn't he done fighting yet?!" Aiko asked.

"It's just a matter of time!" Cosmo said and fired another grenade. Everyone could see this thing was going down. Finally after a couple of minutes, the creature did. The last shot made the launcher explode which knocked the monster on its front. All the armor it had was gone.

The group looked on. But before they could breath, they saw something moving from underneath the enemy's back. The voice with the Russian accent came on. "Unfortunately, Ralos is out of control. The D-virus inside of its body will continue to mutate it, until even a god cannot control it!"

Suddenly the thing's spine shot out of the back and went all the way up to the metal structure. It latched on, bring the enemy with it. The hands became square shaped with claws. Tentacles with three pronged ends came out. The monster lost the legs and lower body but the upper mass gained more muscle. On that part there were three glowing sections, one on each arm and the chest. The mouth turned into some kind of sideways one with sharp teeth. It let out a growl, flexing its hands. "That did the trick!" Nicholas snarled.

"He transformed?!" Chris exclaimed.

"I have a bad feeling about this!" Napoleon stated.

"Is this his real form?" Jill asked.

"This is it!" Liru said. "Let's take him down!"

"Whatever we do, we have to finish him off!" her boyfriend agreed.

"Wait!" Jill stated. "Aim for that tear in the shoulder and chest!"

Everyone concentrated fire on those sections. Before the chest area could be shot, the tentacles went up to the metal section and tore threw it. Rubble was thrown at the group but they shot these down. After a bit they came back but this time fired red colored laser beams, forcing everyone to move. These were fired a few times before the tentacles went back up. This time they broke through the wall of the place, trying to grab the group. While some fired to make them back off, the rest fired at the last area. After it took some damage, the tentacles retreated and the thing fell to the floor with a crash. Looking at the spine showed a huge glowing spot.

"Right there!" Uma stated.

"Yeah, we see it," Logan replied and everyone fired at it. "That must be its weak spot. Even the great Achilles had his heel!"

The enemy took a lot of damage but it rose back up on the two arms it had, the spine still attached to the metal section. It came over, each step from the hand causing the ground to shake. Using the spine the monster rose up and tried grabbing anyone with the hands. While these were dodged, the third time it managed to grab Chris and Jill in one hand. "Guy!" Nicholas shouted.

"Jill!" the male human said. "The mouth!" They both fired at the section while the werewolf went in with his katana on the weak spot. The enemy let got of the two humans and dropped to the floor again. The group fired but it still wasn't enough as the monster rose up again.

"They certainly made this one to last!" Cosmo commented.

The same process repeated again. Only it was for the last time. After the last shot, the group watched as the tentacles the thing had turn on the main body and began to attack it. Blood and sparks came out of the monster before the spine was torn from the metal section. The thing was dead. With that out of the way, the real clean up could begin. However no data could be found as it was discovered that it had all been deleted. Only information on the person who had run the place could be found. Of course looking found them dead as well. Regardless a fatal blow had been struck to Rindella. They were done for. The group watched from the outside to see the sun beginning to rise. "They're done for," Nicholas said, referring to the company.

"The end of Rindella is just a question of time," Jill agreed. "But…"

"Yeah…" Chris said. "He's still out there." Everyone knew he meant Desker. But for now they could rest easy as more news came in. According to the latest reports that came in within the next weeks, Rindella was found guilty on all charges of the crimes they had committed. What was more the US FBI and Japan's finest were working together to find Lencer, the creator of Rindella. But the problems weren't over yet. For there would be new threats, some of them connected to Rindella remains in the future.


	23. Chapter 23

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 23: The Creepy Village

Well as it turned out one of these threats and problems happened a month after the facility in Russia had been dealt with. This time those from the nether were once again teamed up but only with Leon on a very special mission. After being reunited with him, they learned that the male human had received special training via a secret organization working under the direct control of the President of the United States. The job was to protect his family. Right now though one of these members was missing. That meant it was Leon's job to find and rescue them. He had asked for help from his nether friends since they had helped with the mission in South America. The president had agreed. It found Leon and the rest in a van dressed in longer layers due to the fact they were in a cooler climate. The country this time was Spain in a wild area with no civilization.

Upbeat Spanish music was playing in the car. Besides Leon there were two other male humans, and one of them was driving. They both wore dull blue colored suits and matching caps. "Korkin, why am I the one who always get the short end of the stick?" commented the driver who had a slight accent

"Who are you really?" the second person asked to Leon also with a slight accent. "Come on and tell us. You are a long way from home cowboy. You have my sympathies."

"Guess that's a locals way of breaking the ice," Nicholas replied. For this mission, he had given him and those from the nether a Speak in Tongues rune. With this they could speak and understand any language. As a bonus it would allow them to communicate with one another in a way that demons and other monsters couldn't comprehend. "Anyway you know what this is all about."

"Our assignment is to search for the president's missing daughter," Leon stated.

"What?!" the male in the front passenger seat exclaimed. "Just a small group like yourselves?"

"I'm sure you boys didn't just tag along so we could sing Kymbaya together as some boys scout bonfire. Then again maybe you did."

The same male let out laugh. "Ah you crazy American it's a direct order from the chief himself. I tell you it's no picnic."

"We're counting on you guys," Nicholas said. The two other human males shrugged. A bit latter the car had to stop since one had to get out and take a piss. This left the group to think some things over. It was right before Leon had taken his duties on protecting the president's daughter when she was abducted. That was the ultimate reason he and those from the nether were in this lonely and rural part of Europe. According to the intelligence, there was a reliable information about a sighting of a girl that looked similar to the president's daughter. Apparently she was being withheld by some unidentified group of people. Nobody could have guessed that Leon's first job would have been a rescue mission.

Meanwhile the guy peeing finished up. "It's freezing," he said, zipping up. "So cold all of a sudden." He began to walk back but then stopped and turned to look like something was watching. Nicholas got the feeling to and looked out the window. Both saw nothing. "Must be my imagination," the human said and got back in the car. "Sorry it took so long."

The vehicle continued down the road. After crossing a wooden bridge it came to a stop. "Just up ahead is the village," the driver told the group.

"We'll go and have a look around," Leon replied.

"We'll stay and watch the car," the second human commented. "Don't want to get any parking tickets."

"Right," Napoleon spoke up in a sarcastic tone. "Parking tickets."

"Good luck," the driver said and the group got out. They were immediately contacted on their radio. Answering showed their receiving screen and the caller's screen. The one doing so was a female human dressed professional, wearing a head set, glasses, and had black hair tied back.

"Leon, I hope you can hear me," she said. "I'm Ingrid Runnigan. I'll be your guy's support on this mission."

"Loud and clear," the male human replied. "Somehow I thought you'd be a little older."

"Anyways, the subject's name's Ashley Raham, right?" Nicholas asked.

"That's right. She's the daughter of the President. So all of you try to behave yourself okay?"

The guys in the group scoffed. Those from the nether wouldn't because they already had the perfect girlfriends. "Whoever this group is, they sure picked the wrong girl to kidnap," Logan commented.

"I'll try to find more information on them on my end as well," Runnigan replied.

"Good," Leon said. "Talk to you later. Over and out."

Pulling out their hands guns the group made their way across the dirt path. There were trees but these had no leaves on them. Most of them were to the sides of the path. There was fog as well, just a bit to make the setting a bit creepy. In a little bit everyone came across a two-story house that was a decent size. Leon looked and saw the front door was open. So did Nicholas. "I can smell someone in there," the male werewolf said. "Perhaps they can help."

The male human and the two werewolves in the group decided they would check it out while the rest stayed outside. The inside was just as dull in color as the outside. But they saw someone, clearly a villager bending over a fire while tending to it. The longed sleeved shirt and pants were dull in color to. "Uh… excuse me? Sir?" Leon asked. The villager didn't respond but kept tending to the fire. The group of three went over to him. Only when that happened did the villager look up and turned around to face them. The expression he wore was a neutral one.

Leon took a picture of Ashley out of his pocket. "I was wondering if you might recognize the girl in this photograph." The picture showed a young woman about the same age as the group with dull blonde hair as well as wearing an orange turtleneck.

The villager replied in an angry tone. Liru and Nicholas understood him thanks to their ruin and could tell the person was being very rude with telling them to get out. "Okay… sorry to have bothered you," the male werewolf replied as the male human put the photo away.

The three turned to leave and didn't see the villager pick up an ax used for cutting wood. With a shout the person swung the weapon. The werewolves and human looked up and rolled out of the way just in time. Their cocked their guns at the hostile who slowly walked towards them. "Freeze!" Leon ordered. The villager kept moving.

"He said freeze!" Nicholas ordered using the ruin to state it in the same language. The hostile didn't but raised his ax to strike.

Liru fired at the right knee, causing the enemy to go to that part on the ground. While they saw blood come out, there wasn't really a wound. Leon kicked the hostile onto the back, and Nicholas with his katana, sliced one of the major arteries on the neck. That seemed to do the trick as the enemy rose up with a groan and a wide opened mouth before falling, never to move again. "What the hell just happened?" the female commented. "It was like he was a zombie…"

Suddenly the sound of a truck starting and moving got the three's attention. They looked out one of the windows and could see it heading towards the others outside. "What the hell?!" Napoleon on the outside exclaimed and the rest of the group threw themselves out of the way. Those inside watched the truck head towards the car where the drivers were. There was shouting and the sound of the vehicles being driven over the side and crashing.

"Shit!" Leon stated and decided to make contact with Runnigan.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"There was a hostile local," the male human explained. "We had no choice but to neutralize him."

"There are still others surrounding the area," Nicholas said after taking a quick sniff and smelled more villagers heading towards the house.

"Get out of there and head toward the village. Take whatever measures necessary to save the subject."

"Understood," Leon replied and ended the call.

Looking down at the corpse saw that the person was carrying a bit of the local currency. The three figured it was best to take it just in case and any more that was found. Suddenly the rest of the group came in. "What the hell is going on here?!" Napoleon asked. "There are hostile locals out there that are acting like zombies!"

"You're asking the wrong person!" Liru replied.

Suddenly they heard the shouting from other villagers. "Quick, upstairs!" Nicholas said. They approached them but a strong smell made them stop for a moment to look and see it was coming from under the stairs. What they saw made the males almost vomit and the female to gasp. They saw human skulls and bones that were infested with flies and maggots. They saw that a lot of people had been killed and hoped Ashley was okay.

Then it was quickly up the flight of stairs. Leon led the way by breaking through the window. The fall to the ground wasn't big at all. Waiting for them were a few more hostile villagers that were wielding tools as weapons. Once again fatal shots from guns weren't enough to kill them. However it only took a few hits to make them go down for good. A couple left behind some money, which was grabbed. Leon then took the lead and the rest followed him on the path that would take them to the village. There was a kind of hut that they quickly found and went in. Inside there was currency and a couple other items that would help. All of this was taken. "Now enough delays let's go," Napoleon stated.

Suddenly Liru cocked her head to the side. "Wait… do any of you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Uma asked. Then the rest heard it; the sound of a whimpering dog. The female werewolf went outside the shake.

"Honey, wait," Nicholas said. His girl stopped. "Let's go together."

The rest followed the sound and right on the side they found the cause; a beautiful grey colored dog with one of the hind legs caught in some kind of bear trap. The females gasped but Liru's was the loudest. "Oh the poor thing…" the female werewolf whispered. The dog looked up at the sound and to her. Liru went to her knees by the head. "Shhh… we'll get you out."

"Yeah, we can't leave this dog here," Nicholas agreed. He went down by the bear trap and pulled the two halves apart. They dog hobbled out and they saw the leg that had the wound but it wasn't a problem for the canine. It shook itself over and then with a bark managed to run off. But not before looking back at Nicholas and Liru one last time.

"I hope he'll be alright," she said and got up.

"It's strange, but I have a funny feeling we'll see him again," the male commented.

With that the group continued on their way. But then in a little bit they spotted something. They stopped and saw a wooden post that had an x made of wood. There was blood on it and two human skulls. "What the hell is it?" Cosmo asked.

"Some kind of warning sign," Leon answered. "I have a bad feeling about this."

They continued a bit further and then heard the shouting of another hostile villager. Spotting the person, they quickly shot him down. Then came another small wooden shack and enemy. The things inside were gathered, and the villager killed. After crossing a small wooden bridge, the group spotted a few more villagers who let out shouts of warning and moved to warn others. Then finally the path led to a stone gate and wooden shack. Inside another villager was killed. Before the enemy died they managed to gurgle out the word lord but a name couldn't be heard. Once the things inside the shack were gathered, the gate was approached. On it was a strange symbol. It was a small diamond that had four arms. Two of them were long that went out and pointed upward. The other two were shorter and went out a little before pointing inward.

Pushing it open, the group found themselves at the edge of the village. There were more of the villagers and buildings all dull in color like the surrounding area. Everyone hid behind some trees and took a peek through binoculars that had zooming functions. They could see a tall tower like it was a church. There was also a huge bonfire burning in the middle of the village. Zooming in showed there was a body that had been one of the drivers in the fire. "Shit," Nicholas said. "If they did that, we'd better sneak in."

"There's no way to," Leon pointed out.

"Then let's go in with guns blazing and catch them off guard," Logan suggested. That seemed to be the best plan and the group slowly crept forward.

"Liru, transform with me," the male werewolf said to his girl and both did so. Napoleon's fangs grew longer as well.

"Hold it…" Leon whispered right at the edge. "Now!"

All hell broke loose as the werewolves in the group came in with snarls. The villagers heard and began to shout but were silenced as Nicholas struck them down faster than they could react. The rest of the group came in as well with guns blazing. Villager after villager was killed. Leon, Napoleon, and Pachira then hopped a fence and went into one of the nearby buildings to see if they could get to the roof. Reinforcements begun to arrive and they slammed the door shut. They could heard the pounding on the door from the enemy. One of the hostiles shouted something out. "Who are these people?" Leon asked. and went to a small window that was perfect for shooting out of.

"What are they planning?" Pachira asked and Napoleon joined them. Everyone then heard a sound they were all too familiar with and saw one of the villagers carrying it.

"Great! Chainsaw!" the male vampire snarled and moved a chest of drawers in front of the door. Suddenly the sound of glass smashing made them look up. Aiko and Cosmo looked to their building and saw a ladder had been placed there so the villagers could enter from above.

"Great!" the male android stated and then had to throw off another villager that had gotten his hands on him. The three inside the building could see the reinforcements pounding on the boarded up windows.

"Son of a bitch!" Leon exclaimed.

Pachira spotted a wooden set of shelves and moved them in front of the windows. Leon and Napoleon ran upstairs to deal with what was coming. The male human spotted a shotgun mounted on the wall and took it. Seeing the ladder that had been placed at the window, the two knocked it to the ground. They also found ammo for the new gun and Leon loaded it. That's when they noticed another enemy, this time a female villager at another window, trying to get in. They shot at her, killing the enemy and called Pachira from downstairs up to them. The three climbed out the window frame and onto some nearby roofs. They could hear the chainsaw still being used, trying to get in. Nicholas saw them make it out and signaled to the others after ripping another villager to shreds. "Keep up the pressure!" he howled, his claws stained red and black from blood and gore.

"Get some together!" Cosmo stated and Liru lured some to him. The android fired a grenade, right on target. An explosion happened, scattering bodies. The group then noticed that the dead villagers when killed, began to dissolve into a bubbling mess and melt away. That definitely meant they weren't human.

"What the hell are these things?!" Logan asked, seeing it happened. "Are them some kind of new zombie?"

"They act like them!" Uma said, firing a pillar of fire at another. Leon, Napoleon, and Pachira came down from the roof to help.

The male human fired with his shotgun, especially on the one carrying the chainsaw. The head was wrapped up by a mask but it was to be noted this enemy could take more hits than the other villagers. Luckily some shots from the shotgun killed the person. However Leon soon ran out of ammo for the gun and had to use his regular one. "How many more now?!" Napoleon asked.

While things were dropped, there wasn't time to gather them. And still more villagers kept coming. That is until the sound of a church bell ringing sounded out. The villagers began to mutter amongst themselves and turned toward the sound of the bell. For some moments they stood still. Then they began to walk, while those with weapons dropped them and slowly followed. It was creepy, like they were all being controlled since it was at the same time. Nicholas with his hearing was able to hear one of them say, "Lord Ladder…"

The group watched the rest of the villagers head into the church and close the door. They all breathed a sigh of relief and gathered in the center of the village. Not one enemy was in sight. Nicholas and Liru turned back into normal forms while Napoleon's fangs shrunk. "Where's everyone going?" asked Leon. "Bingo?"

It was decided it was best to contact Runnigan and she picked up quickly. "We've got some bad news," said Leon. "We've confirmed the body of an officer. Something's happened to the people here."

"Guys you need to get out of there," the female human stated. "Look for a tower. Follow the trail near it."

The group nodded and the call was closed. "Now then, let's look around," Nicholas commented. "That last brawl has shorten some ammo. There has to be more around here. Any money, treasures as well; we're ransacking the place of those things. They won't be missed." Everyone else agreed as these villagers had fully attacked and tried to kill them. However the church door was no good as it was locked. It did have the same symbol that the gate had.

Once everything had been gathered, the group went through two wooden doors to another part of the village. The first item of business was taking out the few villagers here. Then it was onto gathering what could be found here. Then it was through another gateway. They came across a trail that had to be the one Runnigan mentioned. Everyone began to follow it, unaware they were being watched by more villagers from above. The enemies moved a huge boulder and it began to come crashing down. "Shit; run!" Cosmo exclaimed as there wasn't time for him to blow it up.

Everyone ran for it and then dodged so the boulder ended up running into a tunnel and breaking into pieces. Going through it, they found themselves at another building. But there were enemies here as well. This time they tossed some lighted things that when thrown, would explode. "Take them out!" Nicholas stated.

Since the enemy had a number of this weapon, the group had to wait until was thrown in order to make it to the house where they were. Going around the back, the other found a window to get in and take out the enemy. When the villagers were cleared out the group could take it easy for now. "That seems to be the last of them," Cosmo said.

"Wait… I hear something," Liru commented. The rest went silent and heard a slight thud. The kind that someone was making against something wooden.

"I wonder what it is," Nicholas said. "Let's look into it."

Listening closely they found the noise was coming from a nearby house. There was a lock on the door and Leon broke it by striking with his knife. Stepping inside showed it was decrepit and old. But the pounding was louder. Going carefully, the group made their way toward it. They had to be careful as there were small traps blocking the path. There were also some items in here that were taken. Then there was a small wooden shelf in front of a doorway that had to be moved. The path then led to a small room that only had a cabinet for hanging clothes. The noise was coming from inside. "In there," Leon said. Everyone else went to the sides while he took care of the part of opening doors.

The male human did so while everyone was on guard and out fell another human that was also male. He had slightly long black hair and long layers in dull colors. But the brown vest had some designs on it. His mouth was tapped shut and his arms were bound by ropes. From his frantic shaking of his head and muffled shouts, it seemed he was trying to say he wasn't like the villagers. Leon reached over and ripped off the tape. "Ah!" the male exclaimed in a Spanish accent. "A little rough don't you think?"

Nicholas turned the new person over and sliced through the ropes with his katana. "You're… not like them?" the second human asked.

"None of us," the longhaired werewolf replied. "You?"

The human shook his wrists to get the blood flowing again. "Okay I have only one very important question. Any of you got a smoke?"

"Got gum," Leon answered. Suddenly the sound of footsteps made them look up. A few more villagers had shown up. Suddenly another person appeared.

"Perfect," the second male human stated in a sarcastic tone. "The big cheese."

"What?" Leon asked. Looking at the person showed he was much taller than the villagers. One of his eyes was fake and the guy wore a very long dark grey colored trench coat. The guy was bald but had a very long scraggly beard. Both Leon and Nicholas ran forward to kick him. Both were stopped by the tall person who got caught their feet. With a simple grunt and flick he threw the two of them to the others. The entire group landed hard into the wall with groans and were knocked out.

What happened next was unknown at the time if it was a dream or really happening. But they all heard a male voice that was soft and creepy speak. "Feeble humans let us give you our power." They felt something being stuck into their neck like a shot. "Soon you will become unable to resist this intoxicating power." The group felt something being shot into their necks and woke up with a start.

Looking around quickly they saw they were chained up in twos in a different location. Leon saw the second human was behind him. "Hey," the first human said, nudging the other. "Hey! Wake up!"

"Aye yi yi," he moaned and came to. "Crawl out of one hole and into another."

"You want to tell us what's going on here?" Uma asked.

"Amerciano and Japeneso si? Now what brings people like you to this part of the world?" Leon moved his bound wrists. "Ow hey easy, whoever you are." The guy was told their names.

"We came here looking for this girl," Leon said, showing the second human Ashley's picture. "Seen her?"

"What are you guys supposed to be cops or something? Nah, none of you look the type."

"Maybe," Nicholas replied, amused that Leon had been once.

"Okay let me guess, she's the president's daughter," the second human said.

"That's too good to be a guess," commented Napoleon. "Want to start expelling?"

"Physic powers." Those from the nether rolled their eyes. "Nah I'm just kidding with you amigos. I overheard one of the villagers talking something about the president's daughter in the church."

"And who might you be?" Logan asked.

"Ilamo Luis Rarah. I used to be a cop in Madrid but now I'm just a good for nothing guy who happens to be quite the ladies' man."

"Why'd you quite?" Leon asked.

Luis scoffed. "Policia you put your life on the line nobody really appreciate you enough for it. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be anymore."

"Used to be a cop myself," the first male human commented. "Only for a day though."

"I thought I was bad," Luis said.

"Nah, it's not like that," Nicholas stated. "The rest of us were there with him. We were there and dragged him into that incident in the city before it all went to hell with a viral outbreak turning everyone into monsters."

"I know what you're talking about," Luis said. "You know I think I might seen a sample of the virus at the lab department of the police force I worked for."

Suddenly the sound of a heavy ax being dragged on the ground caused everyone to look up. They saw another villager all bloodied, dragging the weapon. He went first for Leon and Luis. "Do something cop!" the second human exclaimed.

"After you!" the first shot back. The enemy raised his weapon up.

"Now!" Leon shouted and both him and Luis pulled away from each other. The ax came down but got the chains instead, breaking them. The two rolled out of the way but the enemy raised his ax again. Leon used his legs to kick at the villager and throw him against the wall. The result was that the neck was snapped, killing the person. Luis in the confusion ran off. The first human picked himself up, and got the others untied. Just then they were contacted by Runnigan and answered the radio.

"It's us," Nicholas stated. "Sorry we couldn't get in touch sooner but we were a bit tied up."

"You're okay, right?" she asked.

"We're fine," Leon answered. "There was a male civilian held captive. According to him Ashley's in a church somewhere."

"What happened to him?"

"He managed to escape."

"Do you have a fix on the location of that church?" Runnigan asked.

"No, but apparently there's a secret passage in the village that leads there," Cosmo answered. "We're heading back to the village." The group ended the call and noticed they still had all their weapons and clothes.

The next thing to do was head out. But before the group could leave, they passed a window that had no glass. Suddenly a hooded figure with a dark bandana around the mouth appeared. The person also had a backpack. "Over here, strangers," he said, the voice showing it was a male. This mysterious person moved and appeared to go around to the side of the house.

"Who was that?" Liru asked.

"I don't trust him," Uma stated.

"I don't know," Logan said. "Something inside me is telling me it's alright."

"I've got it as well," Nicholas commented. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to see what he wants."

After leaving the house, the group took a sharp left and went around to find the person. "Got something that might interest ya." The guy let out a chuckle and opened his trench coat to reveal weapons and ammunition.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Nicholas stated with a grin.

"Got a selection of good things strangers!" Leon acquired a riffle and even had the guy tune up the guns he had so far for greater firepower all by using the money that had been acquired so far. Once the business was taken care of, the group said goodbye to the person who they figured was a weapons merchant of some kind.

Going back to the front showed a stonewall was blocking the way with an iron gate. The wall had a couple missing sections that were perfect for shooting from. Looking through these showed that there was a path alone a canyon like structure. And there were enemies here. "Here goes nothing," Nicholas said and kicked the gate open.

Instantly an enemy spotted them and called out but was shot quickly. The group saw others coming, a few even had the explosive kind of weapon fought earlier. Leon brought out his new riffle to help. Everyone took care of the first wave before moving onto the path. Even more villagers showed up but all of them were killed. Then it was onto a small shack that had a couple items and baddies here. Everything left behind was taken before Aiko found a ladder. She went up it and found a chest that had half of an emblem with one half of the symbol seen before on it. The female took it, figuring it would help. Then it was back down the ladder to rejoin with the others and following the path. Taking a slight turn to the left, the group found the other half of the emblem. "This should come in handy," Comso stated, fitting the two halves together.

Turning around they saw a few more enemies coming up the path and killed them. Then it was onto jumping down to the lower levels along with walking to a door that had an indentation that looked like the completed emblem would fit into. Leon placed it in, and the group was able to get pass this. Going in showed things were quiet. "Let's hope we can take a little breather here," Napoleon said.

Looking around showed more buildings and cliff sides. There were a few items to pick up here. The path led to a building. "Careful, who knows what's in here," Logan said after the group went in.

The room that was entered was small but there was another door. Behind it were a few enemies that were killed. Then a shortcut through some windows brought everyone to the next area that had hunting traps used to trap large game and villagers with explosives. It was a simple matter of taking them out and avoiding the deadly spots on the floor. Then it was through one more door that lead to a path that had some water in it. Following it led to some kind of underground passage. "This must be it," Aiko commented.

The group went forward and found a ladder that went to the surface showing it was at a different part. Everyone kept moving until they reached a big house that had two floors. "This one seems different than the other homes we've seen so far," Nicholas pointed out.

"Let's see what's in," Leon said. The group went in and found a door with the same symbol seen before and an orb that had four lines on it. The male human found it could be turned and managed to make the same thing appear on the orb. Something clicked and the door slid away.

Going in, the group saw what appeared to be a bedroom of some kind. There was a drawer open that had a key in it. There was the same symbol at the end of it. This was taken. Leon then noticed there were some kind of papers on the bed and picked them up. "What do you got there?" Nicholas asked and took a look. It was a note from the chief of the village. "This must be his place I'm guessing. That bald guy in the trench coat."

Looking showed it stated the group had been confined and kept alive as instructed by someone named Lord Ladder, the same person that they had heard being mentioned before. It also mentioned how if it were up to the chief he would have kept them separate from Luis and that it was surprising that he would trust strangers like the group. There was also a fact mentioned that if the second male human and the rest did cooperate, the situation could get a bit more complicated. There was mention of an unknown third party. The note then went on to state that maybe it was a plan on this Ladder to make the third party appear and that is was worth the risk. The note ended with that it was his call and that the chief and others would trust his judgment as always.

"I'll keep a hold of that," Nicholas said and took the note.

"Uh guys?" Liru said. "You might want to take a look at this…"

The rest gathered around a painting that she had found in the room. It showed a man in elegant purpled robes that had designs on them. But what got them were the eyes. "He's creepy and scary," Pachira commented with a shudder.

"I don't like the looks of him either," Napoleon agreed.

"Should we move on?" Aiko asked.

"I think it might be best if one of us peeks outside the door," Nicholas answered. "Who knows what's in here."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Uma asked.

"I'll take a look," Leon said. "You guys stay here."

The male human carefully went out the door and heard muffled voices in the hallway. One thing he did pick up was the word Laga as well. He noticed a painting of the chief before sensing someone behind him. Turning around quickly he was grabbed by the throat by the same person himself. With a grunt, the enemy lifted Leon up easily. The grip on Leon's throat got tighter. Suddenly the chief looked at the male human with interest as he saw that the eyes of Leon had changed to orange. He dropped the human roughly to the floor. "You carry the same blood as us it seems," the chief said with an accent as the male human scooted back a bit, trying to get his breath back. "Never the less, you and the others are outsiders. Just remember… if any of you become unpleasant to our eyes, you will suffer terrible consequences."

The enemy walked away and Leon stood up. "What?" he asked. "Same blood?"

The rest of the group came out to him. "Leon, what happened?" asked Logan. "We heard some noises."

The male human didn't answer because he was contacted by Runnigan and answered. "Guys, I've been able to get some new info that might help you," said the female human.

"Fill us in," Nicholas replied.

"Apparently, there's a religious cult group involved. They're called the Los Rilluminados."

"Wow, that's a mouthful," Liru commented.

"Anyway I had an unexpected run-in with the big cheese of this village," Leon stated.

"So that's what we heard," Comso said.

"But you're okay right?" Runnigan asked.

"Yeah… But he could have killed me but he let me live… And he mentioned something about me carrying the same blood as them. Whatever that means."

"'Carry the same blood…' Hmm interesting…"

"Anyway, there are more important things than solving riddles right now."

"You're right," Logan agreed.

"Hurry and find that church guys," Runnigan said. The call was then cut.

"Wait, I hear something coming from the bedroom," Liru stated after her wolf like ears flicked.

"We'll go together this time," Nicholas said. They all went in and waiting for them was the chief of the village. With a shout he knocked everyone to the side with a punch. The group landed roughly on the floor. The enemy then went over to Leon and pressed one of his feet into the male human's chest. Suddenly the sound of two shots was heard. The chief stopped and turned to see who had fired it. The group were able to raise their heads up as well. They could see a woman in a red dress had done it. The enemy then charged towards the window. He crashed through the glass but didn't get her as the female had disappeared.

The group slowly got up. "Who was that?" Logan asked.

"She looked familiar…" Pachira pointed out.

The group went through the rest of the house, grabbing what was useful before heading out the front door. Waiting for them were more enemies, one of them being the kind that used a chainsaw. "Let's just get pass them!" Leon stated. "There are too many!"

The others nodded and made the villagers flinch enough to get pass them. Soon they reached another gate that had a wooden bar. Removing it allowed them to get through to the part of the village they had first come to. There were still enemies here. "Quick! To the building they went into before!" Nicholas stated.

Everyone made it to it and used the key that was picked up to get inside and locked the door. Letting out a breath, the group then found a trapdoor and opened it. Since there wasn't any other path, they descended into a stone tunnel. They could hear the sound of water dripping and saw it was lit by candles. Going in further showed this seemed to be some kind of small underground cave system. Waiting for them near the end was the same merchant. This time Leon got a personal machine gun and after paying the person, the group went forward and found a ladder to climb up. Doing showed found themselves at a graveyard with a church. There was fog so it was a bit hard to see for Leon. But those from the nether were just fine. "That must be it," Nicholas said, pointing to the building.

"Ugh… how creepy," Pachira whispered and shrank close to Napoleon as did the other females with their boyfriends.

"Just stay close," the male vampire commented softly to her.

Going forward the group noticed the same symbol on some of the graves and on top of the church. However the first thing to do was take out the enemies here and get what items could be useful. They reached the front door of the building and found it was locked. But they noticed there was a round hole like something went in there. They decided to contact Runnigan. "It's us," Leon said to her. "The door's locked. We can't get in."

"Didn't they teach you how to pick locks at the academy?" she asked. The male human rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, there's some sort of indentation like something might fit in here," Nicholas commented. "Normally I'd have Cosmo, Napoleon, or Logan unlock it but I think it might be best to be a little discreet. If they were to knock down the door without it, it might cause too big of a commotion."

"Well there's no use standing around. You have to find some way or something to get inside." The call was then ended.

The group went around the church and found a few villagers that were killed. While there wasn't an entrance, they did find some kind of dial that had seven symbols on it. The handle could only turn in shifts of three or four clicks around at a time. Figuring it out yielded a green gem of some kind that was taken. Then it was down to a road made out of wood that formed one across the side of a cliff face. This was a perfect opportunity to use snipping skills for Leon and Cosmo as they were able to pick of the enemies that were in the way but hadn't spotted the group yet. Then it was into a side shack to pick up some items. There was a notice here however. It was taken after being read. According to it, Luis was the top priority with being found, while the others were a distant second. The second male human had stolen something from the cult group and it was far more important than Ashley. Unless the cult got it back, she would be useless to them. Even worse for them, if whatever the stolen thing was fell into the wrong hands, the world would become a totally different place than what Lord Ladder envisioned. Once again the name stuck out as it had been heard before. Regardless, Ashley wasn't going to be let go and to make sure the group didn't get to her, someone had locked the church door were she was being held.

The notice went on to say that there was a key beyond the lake up ahead but it was to be safe thanks to something named Del Rago had been awakened by Ladder. No one would get across the lake alive. There was a final bit saying the same blood crossed through the veins of the group and that it would only be a matter of time before they joined the cult. Once they did, nobody else would come looking for Ashley. Reading this, the group realized there wasn't much of a choice but to head to this lake. But first they had to continued along the path. It wasn't too much longer until a door was reached and opened.

They emerged from a wooden shack and looked around. They could see that they were now surrounded by natural rock walls and a huge wooden one wall. There were signs that the villagers came here. There were even small wooden huts. Everything was looked at and any items of value were taken. There was a large, metal door though that was securely locked. Then they found another door with the same symbol seen before. Going through this led to the inside of a wooden structure. But they could hear water. "I think we may be getting close," Nicholas said.

"I'm smelling someone familiar to," Liru commented. Looking a bit found the same merchant guy from before. Leon went up to him and did the usual business and selling. However, looking around showed this was a dead end so it was back up to the same area from before. A second door was found and the group went through it.

Emerging, Leon and those from the nether found themselves at a path that had cliff walls on either side. They had barely walked forward when they heard the sound of villagers. Looking up showed three of them rolling a huge boulder off the top of one of the cliff walls. "Shit; run!" Napoleon shouted.

Everyone ran for it and made it just fine. After catching their breaths, the group looked and could see some kind of wooden path over water just up ahead. Cosmo and Leon made sure to snipe off any enemy first before everyone went forward. However not all the enemies had been found. Some more showed up, causing the group to hit the water, which was shallow. Once these had been killed, it was onto the next path, which led to another door. "How many of these are there?" Logan grumbled after they went through.

However this would be it as everyone had made it to the lake. It was a quick walk but then they stopped as they thought they saw some movement on the surface. They then brought out their binoculars and noticed there was nothing out on the lake except for a small motorboat. Zooming in showed two of the villagers with a body. It was the one of the cops that had been in the car and was dead. The enemies dumped it in. "Shit!" Leon stated.

The group watched the boat drive off. For some moments nothing happened. Then the surface where the body was began to shake, like something massive was coming. Suddenly the water exploded as a huge mouth erupted, taking the body whole. Shocked, the group took the binoculars away from their eyes quickly and got a glimpse of the creature. They only saw a tail before the monster went under the water again. Quickly the surface was calm again. "So that's it huh?" Nicholas stated. "That's what was mentioned? Well shit."

"We don't have a choice," Napoleon commented. "We can't let this thing roam free."

Heading back to where they had entered, the group noticed a path that led down to the lake's edge. There were two small structures that were looked into before heading down to a pier. There were a few motorboats of the same size that had harpoons for weapons and an anchor each. "Well, after you," Leon said to the females who looked hesitant. The male human got his own boat while those from the nether went in twos for the rest.

The boats went out like a tiny fleet to the middle of the lake. Everyone was on guard, waiting for the creature to strike. What they didn't know was that it had spotted them already. The monster began to surface, heading under the boats first. Everyone in them was wondering where it was. Suddenly it appeared in front of Leon. Everyone was able to see just how big it was. The mouth could easily swallow them all and had some shard teeth and withering as well. There were no eyes but the skin was dull and grey. The thing roared as it emerged before slamming the head down. Leon's boat was lifted off the surface before it came down with a crash. While the vehicle still floated, the anchor had come off.

"You okay?!" Liru called to him. The group looked and saw the creature was moving and had surfaced again briefly before retreating underwater. Suddenly the anchor on Leon's boat got hooked on the monster and it was pulled along.

"Quick! After him!" Aiko stated. Those from the nether punched it on the motors for their boats and were able to keep up with the male human. Leon just had to make sure his boat didn't hit any of the floating logs and other things on the surface since the guy didn't really have control over the boat. Luckily there weren't too many of those things.

"Quick!" Cosmo exclaimed. "The harpoons while the thing is still visible!"

Looking showed the creature was. The guys all threw as many harpoons as possible. A few missed but the rest got the monster. Every time one hit, a stream of blood came out. But quickly the monster was back underwater. It then came out and rammed into Leon's boat, knocking him overboard. The male human didn't waste any time but kicked to the surface and swam to the vehicle as fast as possible. The others saw the creature try to get him, but the human made it before it could. The enemy surfaced again with another roar and the same process happened again. Only this time when the enemy went under, it went deep and Leon's boat stopped. "Okay… where are you?" Logan whispered, his eyes peeled for any sign of the creature.

Suddenly a splash was heard. "There!" Liru shouted.

They saw the monster with the mouth wide open and heading towards the boat she and Nicholas were in. Everyone picked up a harpoon and threw them. All pierced the creature, causing more blood to come out. The chase was on again. Only this time it would be the last one. This was due to the fact that before it could submerge, the amount of harpoons was too much. It let out a roar and the group saw the head once more, before the enemy died by the wounds. Leon then heard the sound of rope being pulled and looked down to see that the very stuff that had been tied to the anchor was wrapped around his right leg. The anchor was still stuck in the monster's flesh. Whipping out his combat knife, the male human cut the rope. He then lay on the floor of his boat with a moan. It had been a tough fight. Getting up, he led the way to the other side of the lake. "Damn that was quite a catch," Logan said with a grin as everyone got out. "Get it?"

"Very funny," Napoleon snarled.

"Hey easy," Uma commented. "He's just making a joke to lighten the mood. What do you think Leon?"

The male human didn't answer but stumbled. Suddenly he coughed, and hard. "Uh, you okay?" Nicholas asked, noticing this but then got a whiff of something that smelled horribly like blood. Leon looked at his gloved hand that had come up for the cough and saw a bit of the exact stuff there. His vision blurred. Suddenly something lurched from inside Leon and caused him to gasp with pain.

"Leon?" Liru asked. Suddenly with a loud gasp, the male human began to fall to the ground. He was caught by Napoleon.

"Shit… he's out cold," the male vampire stated.

"Get him to that cabin over there," Nicholas ordered. "In fact, we should all take a rest in there." They got Leon in just fine and as cozy as possible. Luckily the place was small and abandoned. After making sure it was secure from the outside, those from the nether decided to rest to since this had been a rough start. Little did they know what was happening to their human friend.


	24. Chapter 24

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 24: Cult Leader and Next Fight

Those from the netherworld were able to get some rest just fine. They were able to keep an eye on Leon who was still out. "How long has it been now?" Liru asked Nicholas.

"Almost six hours," he replied, checking his watch. "At least nothing's happened to us while resting."

Suddenly the male human began to stir but was clearly dreaming. Those from the nether looked to see if he would awaken. They had no idea what Leon was experiencing. The guy woke up in his dream and rose up with a groan, one hand on his stomach. Leon looked around and didn't see the others or recognize the place he was at which was the same cabin the group was at. He took a look around, not feeling well. Suddenly the male human let out a yell as he felt something inside his body that shouldn't have been there. Then Leon looked at his arms and hands and saw lines that were close to the surface of the skin and making weird noises begin to spread. Leon let out a cry of terror as these spread everywhere. Suddenly the male human woke with a start and saw the others looking at him with concern.

"You okay?" Nicholas commented. "Take it easy."

The male human got up with a moan slowly. "I think so," Leon replied. Suddenly they got contacted by Runnigan and answered.

"Guys," the female human stated with relief. "It's been six hours since our last transmission. I was starting to get worried."

"Don't you mean lonely?" Leon commented, trying to flirt. Needless to say that didn't work. "Anyway, I started to feel dizzy. Then I guess I must have lost consciousness."

"Lost consciousness?"

"He certainly did," Nicholas said. "We had to carry him here and wait for him to wake up."

"Maybe that has some connection to what the village chief was talking about…?"

"Can't say," Leon told the female human on the other end of the line. "But I'm all right now. We're gonna continue our mission." The call with Runnigan was cut. Leon then went on to explain what he had dreamed about to the others. While it was disturbing, it was best to put it in the back of their minds for now and keep moving. Before they could do so, Uma found an anonymous letter and held up for people to read it.

Reading it told the group that there was an important item hidden in the falls. If they were able to get it, they might be able to get Ashley out of the church. But the road to it wasn't a walk in the park by any means. The enemy had deployed something they called an El Rigante. It ended with saying with what had been going on with their bodies, the person would help them if they could, but it was beyond their power. "Okay, who the hell wrote this?" Napoleon stated. "Certainly not the cult, I know that much."

"Whoever it is could be a good friend to help us," Nicholas said. "I can't help but wonder if it was Luis who wrote this or someone else in the shadows."

Taking the letter, a few more items that would help were gathered. The group then opened the door and noticed it was raining somewhat hard along with lighting and thunder. Uma and Logan casted spells to protect the group from these things. They found a door nearby that was made of stone and went through that to get back to the church. They emerged on a path that had small rock walls on either side. Then Pachira spotted something. "What's that?" she asked.

Looking showed it was a single villager. "Just one?" Napoleon commented. "This'll be easy."

"One can never be too certain," Nicholas stated.

They watched as the single villager approached. Suddenly his neck cracked and then the body began to twitch and convulse. Suddenly his head exploded in a bloody mess, but the body kept moving forward. From the neck a bloody red limb with three deathly white colored tentacles emerged. One of these tentacles turned into a blade. "What in the-?!" Nicholas exclaimed. Leon brought out his sniper riffle and shot the limb, destroying it in one shot. They heard it let out a screech and then the body melted away.

"Okay… what the fuck?" Napoleon stated slowly.

"Someone want to tell me what that was?" Logan asked. The females had shrank to their guy's sides in fear. Leon saw a couple more coming and shot them down.

"Another monstrosity is all," the human male replied. "Come on."

The group kept moving forward. They reached a place that required a few jumps over water to make it to the other side. They were right by a waterway that had the liquid moving fast. Then the group reached a ledge that had a rope that could be used to climb down. Leon went first and the rest followed. At the bottom they found themselves at another structure like area that was a dam for dealing with the water. Some crates had to be shot down in order to create a path to cross the liquid. Doing so opened a way to get to the waterfall. Right now water was coming down and blocking the way. After searching a bit a lever was found and pulled which fixed the problem. This caused enemies to show up. "Let's move!" Nicholas stated and everyone did enough damage to knock the villagers out of the way.

It was then onto the inside of the waterfall which was a tunnel. At the end, the group found a door that had a design on it and candles to the side. In the middle of the door was a round insignia. Taking it opened the way. "I'll hold on to it," Napoleon offered and took the item.

Leon decided it was best to contact Runnigan. She answered right away. "We've obtained an object that resembles the cult group's insignia," the male human stated.

"Wonderful guys," the female human replied. "Head back to the church. Ashley's safety is our immediate priority."

The call was cut and then it was through another door to get out of this tunnel. Emerging, the group found themselves in a cave like structure. There were a few bats flying around. There was a small pier that had some more motorboats on top of water. The group got in these and drove to a different section of the cave. It was the same place the merchant had been before fighting the monster in the lake. This would take them back. They found him waiting for them and Leon did some selling and buying, even getting a larger case to hold more weapons and items. It was then back up the same ladder and exiting a familiar door.

"Alright, now be careful," Nicholas whispered. "Who knows what'll be here waiting."

The group emerged into the same area with the high wall made of wood from before. They didn't get anywhere close to the exit when the gates leading out slammed shut. Everyone looked around, waiting for the enemy to come out. They then saw the huge iron door in the cliff face that they hadn't noticed before in this area being opened from the inside. Villagers came out, all holding two long ropes, pulling at something. Those from the nether could understand their shouts saying things like to pull and get it out to kill them. Suddenly there was a roar and the lines the enemy were using were jerked out o their hands. The ground shook from a footstep and then again as something massive was coming. Suddenly a huge grey colored fist came smashing through, sending one part of the door flying.

With a roar, the thing emerged. It appeared to be some kind of giant with grey colored skin and quite the muscle mass. It wore ripped shorts. "That must be what we warned about!" Nicholas stated. "El Rigante!"

Everyone drew their weapons and was on guard as the villagers got nervous of this thing and for good reason. The monster looked down and began to swing its fists at the smaller enemies, not able to tell friend from foe. A couple were crushed by a kick or stomp. The giant then went after Leon who was able to flip back and avoid the hook it sent at him. Seeing the group ready, it roared its challenge at them. "Let's do this!" Napoleon shouted.

The group fired at the knees and while this didn't send the creature to the ground, they saw the blood come out. It seemed this thing like the villagers had a high tolerance for pain as well because it was still able to walk towards them. They noticed the movements were slower so everyone could keep their distance easily, even by doing a fast walk as long as it was early enough. The giant monster tried to squash them but wasn't able to catch them. It went to one of the corners and was fired at. It managed to pick up a large boulder and turned to throw it. The bullets continued and that's when they noticed a change on the enemy. It let out a roar and grabbed its head, dropping the boulder. From the back between the shoulder blades a limb erupted out of the skin. "What the hell is that?!" Cosmo asked.

Looking at it showed that it moved like the limbs that sprouted from some of the villagers but there wasn't a blade. It also seemed to be in different colors but nasty ones like blood red. The giant went to one knee. "With me Leon!" Nicholas stated, drawing his katana. The human whipped out his combat knife. Both males ran and climbed up to the stalk. With shouts, they hacked at the limb until they monster let out a roar and began to rise. Both of them jumped off as the giant rose up and the limb retreated underneath the skin again. "So that's its weak point," Logan said.

The giant began to stomp towards the group again. Before any of them could fire, the sound of a wolf howling was heard. Looking up showed a familiar canine. "Hey!" Liru stated. "It's that dog!"

It was the very same one that had been rescued from the trap. The canine leapt down to the their level from the cliff wall and began to bark at the monster to draw its attention away from the group. It worked as the giant turned its attention to the dog. "No!" the female werewolf cried. "He'll get hurt!"

The monster went over and tried to grab the canine but the four-legged mammal was too quick for it. "I think he'll be fine," Nicholas told his girl. "Now then…"

Everyone with a gun continued to fire. Soon the limb emerged again from the back. Leon and the male werewolf went up and hacked at it. While it go back in, it would be the end of the monster as the group made it appear a third time. When Leon and Nicholas had hacked at it enough, it was destroyed. The giant let out a roar and began to stagger. It let out some more roars and flailed about. But then it fell to the ground with a might crash. With it defeated the gates opened. "Is everyone alright?" Nicholas asked.

The rest nodded. "But… where is that dog?" Liru asked. Suddenly the canine appeared and went by her leg. The female werewolf bent down to put the four-legged mammal.

"Oh there you are," she cooed. "You were such the clever boy and so brave."" The dog licked her on the face, causing Liru to giggle. Doing so required him to stand up a bit and revealed the genitals showing it was a male.

"Come on, we need to move," Leon stated.

"Not yet," the female replied and turned to look at her boyfriend. "We can't leave him here. Can we keep him? Pleasseee?"

"Liru, we can't," Nicholas answered. "I mean-" He stopped and saw what Liru was doing. Her eyes had gotten big and sad and her lower lip trembled. "Oh no, Liru, don't do that. Don't give me the pouty puppy dog eye face…"

Her arms went around the dog and didn't move at all. "Liru, I'm serious," the male werewolf replied. "First of all we don't know how healthy he is. For all we know he could have something. He might even be one of them and is leading us on. Even if none of that was the case, even if he was the healthiest dog, he's not even close to recovering from that trap. And how the hell are we going to take him where the enemy is?"

"There might be a way," Logan commented. "Stand back." His wand came out and he moved it over the dog like some kind of detector. At the same time the wound on the hind leg fully healed over. It only took a minute and the dog let out a bark of thanks to the wizard.

"He seems to be quite young and strong," Logan commented. "I'd say about two years old. He's fully on our side and won't turn on us. I didn't find anything in him like what we've seen in the villagers. He's also completely healthy. The only thing is that he hasn't been neutered."

"That's amazing!" Uma stated. "I didn't know we had spells like that!"

"There are so many love that can help in situations like this. Plus there's this." Logan waved his wand again and the dog seemed to glow a bit before the fur returned to normal. "Now with this he'll be even faster and able to float if need be. He won't slow us down but be a great help."

"See?" Liru stated to Nicholas. "So now can we?"

She gave her boyfriend a cute look and he let out a sigh. "Damn it I can't say no to you when you do that Liru," he grumbled. "Alright fine." The female let out a cheer. "All the same he should have a proper name." Nicholas went over to the dog and got a friendly sniff and head bump on the head. The male couldn't help but smile and pet the newest addition. "I think Kratos would be a good one for someone so strong."

"Great, now that we're finished, let's get going," Leon stated. The rest including the newest member of the group Kratos turned to head back to the church.

After quickly grabbing what they could from the shacks, everyone moved. They saw lighting flash and heard the thunder as well as smell the rain coming again. The drops began to fall quickly. The group went back through the same door and across the same wooden path to get to the church. Kratos showed he could jump as far as them with no problem. However before they could approach the building, Leon stopped the rest as he thought he saw something in the darkness that glowed red. Taking out his snipe riffle, the human fired and those from the nether heard the sound of a dog making a yelp. "Leon!" Liru exclaimed and then heard the growl coming from their canine.

"Something tells me whatever was shot, it's not on our side," Nicholas said. That's when they saw it, another dog emerge from the shadows. But something was off about it. It came forward with a snarl and Nicholas fired at it. The canine was sent back and looking showed the body melting.

"So they've gotten to things like this to; no surprise," Napoleon commented. "It's just like with the viruses and infecting other creatures."

Going up the path two more of the canine like enemies attacked. Nicholas whipped out his katana and decapitated the heads. Liru winced as she suddenly got an image of that happens to Kratos. Although they had just got him, the female couldn't bear to not have him. She knew her boyfriend would never harm him, but the image still came. The group then reached the church doors and used the item they had gotten to get in. The inside was dull in color but had aisles and candles burning in holders. They noticed the cult's symbol was in a few places of the church. There was even a stained glass window that had it to. "So this is it, huh?" Logan commented.

"This insignia's everywhere," Leon said. "I wonder if it's a religion from this region?"

Nicholas looked at the colored window and saw three other circles surrounding it. "Well you've got to admit they know how to build a place like this."

Looking around the group found a ladder that climbing up took them to the second floor. While there was a doorway with bars that was no good, Leon saw that by jumping to a chandelier would allow him to get to the other side on this floor. It was here that he found some kind of light device. Upon activating it three colored red, blue, and green appeared on the three circles surrounding the stained glass window. These had certain spots that were filled in of that color. The male human found he could turn these lights around and combined them together. Doing so caused and match and the pathway to be open. "Good work there," Logan said when he rejoined the rest.

"Time to go rescue her," Uma stated.

"Let's move before an enemy gets here," Pachira commented.

The group reached a door on the second floor and Nicholas sniffed the air. "There's someone in there," he said. "I think it might be her."

Leon offered to go in alone since that was needed for now. The human slowly opened the door. The guy entered and saw a figure dart to a corner. "Ashley!" he stated.

"Don't come!" the female human cried and threw a piece of wood at Leon. She had short blond hair, a orange colored sweater like shirt that had no sleeves, a green mini skirt, and brown boots that almost went to the knees.

"Hey!" Leon stated and tried to approach, but the female human moved again. "Take it easy!"

"No! Get away!"

"Calm down. Everything's going to be just fine." Leon was able to get close to Ashley. "My name's Leon. I'm under the President's orders to rescue you."

That had the effect to make the other human to become hopeful. "What?!" she stated. "My father?!"

"That's right," the male human answered. "And I have to get you out of here. Now come with me." Ashley instantly got up and followed him out of the room.

The two humans made it to the others and introductions were done. Then Leon went ahead to contact Runnigan. "It's us. We've succeeded in extracting our subject."

"Good work," she replied. "I'll send a chopper over right away."

"Where's the extraction point?" Nicholas asked.

"There's another trail you guys can take to get out of the village. The chopper will pick you up beyond there."

"Got it," Leon replied. "We're on our way."

The group found a ladder that took them to the first floor. But they had hardly gotten to the exit when a soft voice sounded out. "I will take the girl." It sounded creepy and brought the image of decaying things to their minds. Looking at the head of the church pews they saw the same man with purple robes from that picture standing before them with some kind of staff. It didn't appear to be made of wood but some kind of flesh color with a few eyes at the pointed top.

"Who are you?" Leon asked with narrowed eyes.

"If you must know, my name is Osmund Ladder, the master of this… fine religious community."

"That's the guy from the picture!" Liru whispered. She and those from the nether shrank close to their boyfriends.

"What the hell do you want?" Nicholas growled. Kratos was growling to and the female werewolf steadied him with one touch of a hand.

"To demonstrate to the whole world our astounding power of course! No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever! So we… kidnapped the President's daughter in order to give her our power. And then… send her back."

"No!" Ashley gasped as she realized something. "Guys… I think they shot something in my neck."

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Napoleon snarled to Ladder.

"We just planted her a little gift. Oh there is going to be one hell of a party when she returns home to her loving father!" The guy let out a creepy laugh. "But, before that, I thought I might bargain with the President for some donation. Believe it or not it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running."

"Faith and money will lead you nowhere, Ladder," Logan snapped at the enemy.

"Oh I believe I forgot to tell the rest of you, that we gave you the same gift." This caused the group to think back to the moment after running into Luis for the first time and felt something being shot into their necks.

"When we were unconscious…" Cosmo stated and the girls got a sense of dread.

"Oh I truly hope that all of you like our small, but special contribution. When the eggs hatch, you'll become my puppets. Involuntarily you'll do as I say. I'll have total control over your minds. Don't you think this is a revolutionary way to share one's faith?"

"Sounds more like an alien invasion if you ask me," Leon shot back. The church doors opened revealing two more cult memories with crossbows. These had flaming arrows as weapons. The enemy pointed these at the group as Ladder let out a creepy smile. Leon and those from the nether saw these and without a second thought, the human male grabbed Ashley, pulling her with them just as the arrows were fired. The projectiles missed and the group crashed through a nearby window and outside.

She was panting from fear as the group got up. "You okay?" Leon asked her.

"Leon… what's going to happen to us?" she asked with fear.

"Don't worry." Nicholas replied. "We got into this mess, we can get out of it."

They noticed it was still raining by the sound and Kratos shook himself over before the group could continue. This was due to them being in some kind of side shelter right next to the church from the window they had busted through. It was then through a door. Looking outside showed the rain coming down. The group also saw the torchlight of a number of villagers waiting for them. "Now how are we suppose to get through that?" Liru asked.

"Don't know," Nicholas commented. Then he noticed something. "Wait a minute…" The male werewolf could see a wagon that had barrels on it.

"Shall we?" Cosmo asked and after a nod, the male android fired at one. The action caused it to explode, lighting the thing on fire and for it to roll down the hill. It acted as a weapon, taking out the villagers and then exploded which killed off any that avoided the rolling thing.

"Well that was easy," Nicholas commented as the group went pass the graveyard.

Now it was onto a different path. After going through a door everyone found a ladder that went down to an underground passage. They found the weapons merchant again and Leon did the usual selling and buying. Once that was finished it was to the other side and up the ladder that lead to another door. Soon everyone was back at the village again. Emerging, they told Ashley to wait in the nearby bell tower before taking out what remaining villagers there were. Once they had been taken care of the female human joined up with them again.

After going through another door, they found a dumpster for her to hide in. Luckily there wasn't anything in this. The rest then checked out a nearby hut where they found another document. It was titled Rarah and the 3rd Party. This went on to say this his whereabouts were still unknown. It was most likely that the guy was using an old secret passage taught to him by his grandfather. The document went on to say that he was hiding the cult's property somewhere in the forest and that if Rarah's grandfather was still alive, they would use the dead person to find the other male human. What the cult couldn't understand was how Rarah found the egg injected into his body and able to remove it. This was concerning to them. The document then went on to say another concern was that Rarah escaped with their property just before Leon and those from the nether arrived which couldn't have been a coincidence. There had to be another player involved in this. The document went on to say the best way to settle this was to capture the human, wait for the effects of the drug to wear off before injecting him with another egg. It ended by saying whoever interfered with the plans would suffer severe consequences.

"Okay this just raises answers." Nicholas stated after putting the document with the rest that had been found so far. "We've heard mention of eggs before. But how could Rarah stop them? What drug are they talking about? He's got some answers that we need."

"Maybe we can find him," Liru commented.

The next item of business was clearing out the villagers and grabbing everything useful. After this was finished, Leon gave a loud whistle and Ashley joined up with the rest. Then everyone moved forward to a place that had high wooden walls. Cosmo snipped the first villager they spotted easily. Once that enemy was out of the way, it was to a gate. Here Ashley helped the group out by going over it. How this was done was by standing on Leon's back and he boosted her up. The female got it open on her end and that allowed the rest to continue.

They found the weapons merchant again but Leon only did a small upgrade to one of the guns he had this time. Then the group found a bridge. But before they could cross, Runnigan contacted them. "Guys I have some bad news," the female human stated.

"We'd rather not hear it," Leon responded.

"Well I'm afraid I have to tell all of you anyway. We've lost contact with the chopper. Someone must have shot it down though we can't determine who."

"Great…" the male human said while a couple of the other males cursed.

"We're prepping another chopper for you. Meanwhile I want all of you to head towards the extraction point." The group nodded in response and the call was ended.

They managed to cross the bridge but then stopped when they saw the torchlight coming from a bunch of villagers heading their way. Looking behind showed more in the distance. "What are we gonna do?!" Ashley asked, starting to panic.

"I hate to say it, but we're sandwiched alright!" Leon stated.

"Quick! In that cabin!" Nicholas barked spotting one right behind them.

Everyone else followed his lead and the male werewolf was in first with his gun at the ready. Leon followed and quickly grabbed Ashley, pulling her in. The others from the nether and Kratos were in right after them. The male human was the one to slam the door shut. Suddenly a familiar voice sounded out. "Leon!"

Looking showed it was Luis who had tossed the bar that would go on the door to keep anyone from coming in that way. Liru took the bar and put it into place on the door. "Small world, eh?" the second male human commented and walked into the light. His eyes went to Ashley. "Well… I can see that the President has equipped his daughter with ballistics to."

"How rude!" the female human exclaimed. "And I don't believe there's any relevance with my figure and my standing! Who are you?!"

"Oho, excuse me, your highness! Perhaps the young lady might want to introduce herself first before asking someone his name."

"Her name's Ashley Raham, the president's daughter."

Luis turned to Leon. "Is she… well you know."

"Don't worry," the first human male replied. "She's cool."

"Ah… never mind," Luis stated. "There's suppose to be some kind of obvious symptom before you turn into one of them anyway."

Ashley let out a gasp and pointed to a window. "Look!" she stated.

Looking through a boarded up section the rest saw the villagers were slowly heading towards the building. "Ashley, upstairs!" Leon ordered and she ran up them. Those from the nether drew their weapons. Luis also got his gun out.

"Ok! It's game time," he exclaimed.

Some of the males started by moving the wooden shelves in front of the windows to buy some time. Everyone could hear the pounding on them, of the enemy trying to get pass these obstacles. At least this allowed everyone to take positions. "Steady…" Nicholas growled.

Then after a few minutes, the villagers were able to bust through the barriers. What they were greeted with was a round of fire. Many were killed, but some had the limbs emerge from the neck like seen before. The group showed no mercy. This seemed to last forever. But then they suddenly noticed the mass that had still not come in retreat after some minutes. "Looks like they're backing off," Leon pointed out.

Nicholas cleaned the blood of his katana that had been used during the fight. "So… what do we do now?" Luis asked. Ashley came down the stairs.

"The bridge we used to cross here is out," Napoleon said. "So I guess we have no choice but to keep moving."

"I forgot something," the second male human commented and went for the door. "You guys go on ahead." He left the building.

"Luis," Leon commented and saw him disappear into the mist and rain.

The group left the building by a different door. They still didn't get wet thanks to Uma and Logan who had casted spells to keep them dry. Right outside they ran into the merchant but didn't buy anything from him this time. Leon then lead the way to a mechanism in a hut nearby. "Hmmm… should we pull the lever?" Aiko asked, noticing one on the floor.

The male human just grabbed it and pulled it to the left. Everyone saw the gears turning. This caused a gate to open. Everyone went through it and passed a door. They emerged into an area that had wooden scaffoldings that created a second level. There were walls surrounding the area and many villagers here. "Great... more of them," Nicholas growled.

Suddenly one of them spotted them and was killed. "Get ready!" Napoleon stated.

Leon spotted a nearby dumpster and told Ashley to hide in it. He and the rest of the group began to take care of the rest of the villagers. "A couple stay behind with Ashley," the male human said. "The rest follow me to help."

Aiko and Cosmo volunteered and did so, letting Ashley know what was going on. Leon and those from the nether continued throughout the area. But then when they got to the center, things got a bit tougher. From the upper level a female villager with a chainsaw descended down to fight. Only one eye could be seen since white bandages that had some blood on them covered the rest of the head. A second one wielding the same weapon came out after using her chainsaw to get past one of the wooden walls on the ground level.

"Shit!" Logan stated. "Back up!"

The group did so only to find the two-chainsaw wielding opponents and more villagers waiting for them. Everyone retreated near to where Ashley was since this was a better place to fight the enemies. "What's going on?!" Aiko asked, seeing them.

Looking showed her the answer. "Bring out the big guns!" Nicholas told Cosmo. The male android fired and took care of most of the enemies. But the chainsaw wielding villagers required a bit more fire to kill. But then they to fell. One was carrying a key that was for a camp while the other had a ruby.

Only when the last of the enemies were killed did Leon whistle for Ashley to emerge. The group went to a door where the chainsaw enemies had appeared and used the key to unlock it. However waiting for them were more enemies. Since Cosmo was by their side, it was no problem taking care of these villagers. Especially since they swarmed in a large group, making them one huge easy target for the male android. Then it was through a set of red doors. Upon doing so, the rain finally stopped.

After going across a small narrow rock bridge a door was found. But the group couldn't open it. It appeared to be the only way out. Looking at the thing showed it had a metal decorative head on it with some kind of rental scanner on it. So the only other path was a side one. A small shack was found and everyone went inside to see what could be found. There was another important document titled Village's Last Defense. The chief of the place himself had obviously written it. It stated that he had clearly underestimated Leon and the rest with their capabilities and how they were still alive. It then went on to say that the enemy could wait until the eggs hatched, but at the rate the group was going, they could destroy the whole village before they did. It was best to take care of the nuisances they had become.

The best course of action was to focus on them and cease the hunt for Luis. The document made mention of a building to enlighten betrayers just beyond a point where a lift was. It was the perfect place to ambush them. Then if all else failed, they would still need to face him in order to get past the last gate that lead out of the village. The document ended by saying that only before his slight would the gate open. There was also a journal here that explained more information. It had been written by one of the villagers. It was the history of the place before the cult had taken over. There were drawings in here that had been done by the person who had written this. Once the place had been peaceful, abandoning modern technology to protect their culture and maintain a simpler lifestyle. There had even been children here.

Then it went on to explain one of the writer's friends had a new job to assist in excavations in a nearby castle. The diary made mention of the 1st Castellan who had ruled, slewing evildoers and preserving peace in the village. Grandparents had told these stories. But then the diary mentioned the name of the current Castellan; someone named Ramon Lalazar, and how different he was to the 1st. When the harvest festival then came the next day the chief wasn't there and the author of the diary shrugged it off. He then went on to say how life returned to normal. However the chief then called an important sermon. It was here that Osmund Ladder appeared after the sermon was turned over to him. The man told fantastic stories, which persuaded the villagers there to join the cult. They were injected with an unknown substance in a cleansing ritual for their sins. Then latter on, the villagers began to force their family members to take part in the same ritual. Once this had been done, they were told the cult's version of the 1st Castellan who had pursued the cultists.

Then the villagers began to fall ill. The symptoms were coughing up blood for the adults along with hot blood, painful headaches that felt like the head would burst, and even the blood itself began to bleed out the body due to the pressure. Then over the next few days all the children fell ill and died which explained why there weren't any found at all. Then the adults became emotionally emptied like what the group had seen in the way they moved like zombies. Then they received orders to keep outsiders away from the village to protect Ladder. These guys interpreted the order as to kill any strangers. The journal ended with mentioning that one of the villager's heads had broken off, followed by a drawing of the same limb that the group had sometimes seen sprout from some of the villager's necks.

Everyone looked up at each other having finished reading the diary. "This explains some things," Nicholas said. "The second thing is more disturbing."

"It's creepy," Liru agreed. Both of these things were taken.

"Guess it's time to face the big cheese," Napoleon commented. "Let's try to find this lift area that was mentioned."

It took a bit of walking but everyone found it. The lift wasn't anything fancy; just metal platforms. They only had enough room for four so the group had to split up so all get across. This was the perfect time to snipe the enemy that was on the cliffs on either side and those ridding up. One shot was all it took to send them falling down into the dark below. Soon everyone had made it to the other side. Now it was on to finding the place where the chief was waiting for them. They had to go through another door and down a short path before finding the building. It was two stories and only had one door.

"This is it," Napoleon stated.

"So who's going?" Pachira asked. "All of us?"

"I don't think so," Nicholas replied. "If we all go in, there might not be enough room for all of us to fight. I'd say two of us and Leon should be enough. The rest can stay with Ashley."

Cosmo and Aiko quickly decided to stay back since the female android figured she wouldn't be a match for the enemy. Pachira and Uma volunteered to stay back and so their boyfriends decided to say with them. "Guess it's us then," Liru commented, a bit worried.

"Hey we've got this," her guy said, patting the female on the shoulder. Kratos let out a bark to reassure her it was alright.

"Watch out for him," Liru told Ashley who nodded. Kratos went to the female human's side. She and those staying behind then hid themselves.

With that out of the way, Leon reached for the handle, with his pistol out. He slowly opened the door while Nicholas and Liru also had their guns drawn as well. The three went in. Looking showed this had once been a barn. The stalls weren't here but there were a couple ladders leading up to the second floor. Trash bins and a few barrels were in here. The trio were on guard as they slowly took some steps forward. The enemy suddenly appeared behind them, southwind of the noises of Nicholas and Liru so the two didn't smell the chief. But the small group felt him behind them.

Whipping around, both werewolves met the back fist of the tall enemy, which sent them flying to their back. With this free hand, the chief grabbed Leon by the throat before the other hand grabbed the wrist that held the gun. The enemy lifted the human up with a growl as Leon tried to get free. Nicholas and Liru slowly rose up from the ground as that backhand had been quite powerful. The chief let out a shout and threw Leon towards one of the support beams. The human hit it with a painful grunt and landed on the ground. The enemy then went to the door and with inhuman strength turned the handle around in a knot so the door couldn't be used anymore. The tall person then turned back to the three. Nicholas and Liru had gone over to Leon who was still recovering. The enemy walked over slowly and then with a growl lunged with his right hand to grab Leon's throat again. The female werewolf rolled out of the way. The male human did to one of the barrels. But Nicholas sprain up and slashed with his katana out. The blade made a direct hit, cutting through the chief and part of his coat. The blood came flying out. The male werewolf landed on his feet, facing the chief.

Leon noticed the enemy falter from the wound. He kicked the barrel over. From it some kind of liquid that smelled like gasoline poured out around the enemy's feet. He glanced up with another growl at the male human. "Chew on this," Leon stated and fired at it with his gun as did Nicholas.

The gasoline caught fire and quickly went to the barrel. The group of three threw themselves out of the way as the thing exploded, catching the chief in it. Some fire also came out as well as some of the wood in the building caught fire. The two werewolves and human picked themselves up. They saw to their shock, the chief had survived. His trench coat burned away as an inhuman growl came out from him. His fingers flexed, the nails becoming longer and sharper like talons. They watched as his body that was still smoking began to change. Spidery veins popped out as four limbs began to emerge from his back. The two at the top became longer with hooked ends, the color of all of them being bloody red. Suddenly his whole spine began to grow, separate the top of the body from the lower one. The bumps on each part had become small leg like extensions that moved. The smaller limbs on the back moved the same way.

Nicholas, Leon, and Liru all fired but the chief took the shots, not stopping at all with his walking towards them. The three moved under him as the monster tried to grab them. They tried this again, but the enemy wasn't stopping. The small group climbed up one of the ladders nearby. The fire was slowly spreading and more smoke was coming out. It created a creepy atmosphere but not one that couldn't be fought in yet. "We'll get him from above," Nicholas commented.

They walked around and picked up the few small items here that would help. Before they could then pick an area, the enemy was able to reach out with one of the long back limbs and managed to hook Leon, bringing him down roughly. "Leon!" Liru cried. Before the chief could strike at him, Nicholas drew his katana and came down with a slash at the enemy. This seemed to do some damage as the enemy faltered. The female werewolf went to the male human and managed to drag him out of the way.

Leon got up on his own, shaken but fine. He then pulled out one of his more powerful guns and fired. This appeared to do more damage as the enemy faltered again like before. The mutated chief went down low and came charging in, but the group was able to move out of the way. The enemy did it again and couldn't get the group. They looked and noticed the lowest vertebra was bubbling, like it had taken a lot of damage. "Distract him, I'm going for it," Nicholas stated.

Liru and Leon fired while the male werewolf transformed. With a yell, he put on burst of speed and his katana was a blur. The sword sliced through the area like butter. The enemy's top body fell over while the lower section continued to walk but now stumbled all over the place. That single vertebra left still had the small legs on it moving as blood and gore gushed out. The mutated chief on the ground suddenly rose up and with his top back limbs managed to reach up and grab one of the support beams. It was clear now the monster was more mobile. The group saw he coming in by swinging with these two limbs and dodged his attack. Leon threw a grenade that had been picked up but the enemy moved back from the blast. The second one managed to get the enemy, knocking him down.

The group let loose with their guns, but it wasn't enough to kill the chief still. They watched him retreat up to the rafters and moved so to avoid his attack from above. The three kept moving and dodging the enemy's attacks while shooting him down. Then at last one bullet knocked the guy back and onto the ground. The chief rose up with a mutated yell as blood came out of his mouth. The guy's head then fell to the ground and with that, he was dead. Suddenly his left eye came out, showing it was a fake. The group went over and Leon picked it up. Suddenly a part of the wall collapsed, showing a new hole and a new way they would get out. But the real fighting was only beginning.


	25. Chapter 25

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 25: Creepy Castle

The three that had fought the chief took a running start in order to jump out the new hole and make it to safety. "Are you okay Leon?" went the voice of Ashley. The two werewolves and the male human looked up to see the others approaching them. Kratos ran to Liru and Nicholas licking them both and had his tail wagging.

"Yeah, had a little trouble, but we're fine," Nicholas replied, petting the dog.

Now it was back to that door that had that metal decorative face. One lift ride latter and the group was soon standing in front of it. Leon held up the fake eye to it and the group could hear something beep. Now they could open the door. They emerged to a new area. The group could see a castle in nearby that seemed to still be in good condition. There was a bridge making a path to it. "Let's go," Aiko said.

"Wait!" Logan commented and pointed up the path. There were a few villagers there. Cosmo quickly snipped them off. But when the group tried to move forward, they noticed a truck coming towards them. They all fired at it, causing the engine to ignite and explode. There were some enemies in the back of it but they were dealt with quickly.

Now it was onto the castle. But before everyone could take a step to it, they turned and saw the torchlight of more villagers. "On the other side of the bridge!" Leon ordered.

Everyone followed him to where two winches used to work the bridge were placed. Both humans took one of them and raised the path up in two parts so the enemy couldn't follow them. "Well that takes care of that," Cosmo said.

"Now what?" asked Aiko.

"Keep going," Leon replied. "Come on."

The group emerged into the first area. The walls were thick and high and made of dark grey stone. There were a number of barrels here that were broken to get at the items inside. There was even a small chest that had money in it. "Keep an eye out; there's probably more like these here," Nicholas said.

Once all these had been found, Leon found the weapons Merchant and did some selling and buying. They were new weapons that were more powerful than the old stuff. Now the group could continue. They went up some stairs and through another door. This led to a different outside area that was part of one of the castle walls. Before they could step to the rest of the area, they heard the whispering of what could only be more enemies. But it was more like a chant. "Now what?" Liru asked.

"Might be different types of enemies," Uma suggested.

"Be careful," Logan said. The group then stepped out and saw they were at an area of the castle that looked like it was one of the places where it could be defended from outsiders. There appeared to be different paths and areas that lead to different parts of the castle. Everyone then noticed enemies were nearby on a higher level that were wearing robes of black. Leon and Cosmo took out their snipping guns and managed to dispose of these cult like enemies with headshots. Then a flight of stairs was reached.

"Wait!" Leon ordered to Ashley. She stayed behind and he plus a few of the others went on ahead. It was a good thing because they spotted more of the new enemies, some wearing robes of red with the cult symbol on the front. Elaborated golden skull goat masks covered their heads. It was clear these were the highest ranking of the enemies, not counting the chief and Ladder that had been encountered before. One shouted out and pointed. Catapults were loaded and launched, sending balls of fire to the small group who had made it up. These things caused great destruction as it showed small structures were destroyed when these made contact.

Moving quickly, those with snipe weapons went forward and through the lenses saw there were barrels next to these catapults. They fired at these, causing explosions and killing the enemies by the catapults. This allowed the rest to follow them. Everyone went forward and down a side path to a smaller well fortified room that hid them from the view of the enemy. There were a few barrels and another canon. "I wonder if we could use this ourselves," Nicholas said.

Leon broke the barrels to get at the items inside and then it was back to from the side path to the main one. Going up some more stairs, at the top, Leon told Ashley to wait again. It was a good thing she did since there was a couple more enemies with another catapult. After they fired, the male human went forward to get rid of them with another barrel explosion. Now that the path was clear, it was forward again to a small stone structure. A single enemy was here and quickly killed. Ashley stayed behind again while those with long ranged weapons took care of the rest of the enemies. Once these had been cleared, Aiko found a winch that when used, brought up the same canon from before. Cosmo used it to blow a door down so the group could continue.

A couple more chest were found, one of which had a gold bangle in it. Leon knew this could be sold for quite the amount of money with the merchant. They found him outside a door that would take the group inside the castle. Leon even bought a larger case from him to hold more weapons and things. Then it was onto the inside where Runnigan was contacted. "Guys. Where's your current location?" she asked.

"We decided to lay low in a castle but it looks like it was a bad move," Leon answered.

"Meaning?"

"Well it appear that this cattle's also connected with Los Rilluminados," Nicholas explained. "They must not get many visitors here cause they're giving us one hell of a welcome."

"Sounds bad. I have an idea guys. I need you to-"

Suddenly the call got cut off and there was static. "What? Repeat Runnigan," Napoleon said. There wasn't a reply.

"Great. Just our luck…" Logan grumbled.

There wasn't much else to do but grab what was in this area. There was even a platinum sword that was grabbed that had been mounted on one of the walls. Then it was up some stairs. Upon reaching the top, the group heard the sound of an enemy. There were a few but then more began to come from a downstairs entrance. They noticed that some of them had painted faces with lines and were wielding small spiked flails. Once all of these enemies had been taken of, there was one left with a painted face and red robes. This one was able to take a lot more damage. But after the head got blown off a limb emerged that was thicker than what had been seen before. But even this person couldn't stand up to everyone and was killed.

Then Liru found a golden sword and took it. She took care of placing the platinum sword in the hole where the second sword had been and the other in the first hole. This caused a wall to move to the side, revealing a hidden door. Everyone quickly went through it. This led them to another outside area of the castle. They hadn't gone far when they heard a familiar voice. "Guys!"

Turning they saw who is was. "Luis!" stated Nicholas.

"I've got something for you guys." The second male human began to search his pockets and then realized something. "Oh shit! I must've dropped it when I was running away from them!"

"Dropped what?" asked Ashley.

"A drug that will stop your convulsions." This got everyone's attention. "Look I know you are carriers. You've been coughing up blood, right?"

The other two humans looked at each other. "Yeah," Leon answered.

"And you?" Luis asked to Ashley.

"Yes," she replied.

"Damn it! The eggs have hatched. We don't have much time."

"What are you talking about?" Nicholas asked.

"I have to go back and get it," Luis said.

"Let me come with you," Ashley stated.

"No. You stay here with Leon. He's better with the ladies. I'm sure." Luis began to walk away.

"Why are you…?" began Liru.

"It… makes me feel better. Let's just leave it at that."

He quickly rounded a corner and then disappeared. "This doesn't make any sense though," Napoleon said. "Why the humans but not us?"

Ashley heard that and looked to him with a questioning look. The vampire saw this and shook his head. "You know I have noticed that to," Aiko stated. "We were injected to. So then why?"

"I think it's pretty obvious why it wouldn't for you and Cosmo," Nicholas stated. "But the rest of us… My only guess is that the parasite isn't compatible with us. We have a natural immunity to them since well… you know." The rest of the sentience was that those from the nether weren't human. Ashley was now looking at the group with a more serious look. Leon decided it was best to come clean.

"Look… they're not human, but on our side," he stated. "We didn't tell you that since we thought it was best."

"I'm sure you began to suspect with Liru since she's not exactly hiding anything," Nicholas commented. "The point is that let's just say these cultists aren't the only monsters in the world. But not all of them are evil."

"It's fine," Ashley said. "Somehow… I've always known when I saw the rest of you with Leon. But I know if you wanted to hurt me you would have done so by now." She then smiled and the rest knew things with her were fine.

There were now two doors to choose from. Nicholas and Liru smelled enemies behind one so those needed to be killed first. Leon kicked the door open to draw them out. It worked and the cultist who came met gunfire. One of them had a limb emerge from the neck but that wasn't a problem to kill. The male human and a few from the nether then went forward since looking beyond this door showed there was a bigger area with more enemies to kill. They found a couple that had long wooden spiked shields. But these were no match for the firepower the group had. Once all these were dealt with everyone grabbed the money and other items that would help. One of these was a silver colored key.

"I wonder what it goes to?" Pachira asked.

"Hold onto that," Nicholas told the female vampire. "If we find out where you can have the honor of opening it."

As soon as they turned they saw more enemies come in. Leon fired at a barrel that exploded. One managed to survive and even after taking a number of hits, the limb seen before erupted from the neck. "Leave this to me," Nicholas said and his arms transformed. With a shout the male werewolf attacked the limb with his katana and left clawed hand. It stood no chance and was destroyed. The body melted away.

"Well that wasn't so bad," he commented after putting his sword away and his arm went back to normal.

The group then went back out to where the they had found the two doors and went for the main one but it was locked. "Here," Pachira commented and tried the key that had been found. It fit into the lock and the door was open.

Everyone looked at they could see that they were in what was the main entranceway of the castle. There was a single path with a balcony like platform above that. A few stairs led up to it. Those from the nether, Kratos, and the two humans slowly went forward. But just before they got to the stairs they heard the sound of a male chuckling. Looking up to the balcony showed four beings had appeared. Three of them were about the same height as Leon. One wore dark blood red robes, another had black colored ones with red lines, and the third had black line on his grey colored robes. While they appeared human, the group saw the glowing eyes and the strange hands which were black and only had three fingers. The final person was a very short male with grey hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing a blue outfit similar to what a colonial would wear with it being blue. His face was wrinkled a bit. He was the one who had been laughing and then stopped to speak.

"I was starting to wondering when you might notice us," he said, his creepy yellow eyes scanning the group. His voice had a slight accent to it.

"Who are you?" Nicholas asked. Kratos let out a growl and Liru calmed him down with one hand.

"Ramon Lalazar, the eighth castellan of this magnificent architecture." The group realized he was the one that had been mentioned in the diary they had found before facing against the big cheese of the village. "I have been honored the prodigious power from the great Lord Ladder. I've been expecting you, my brethren."

"No thanks, bro!" Leon snapped back.

"My my, we've got a feisty one," the enemy sighed before taking a more serious tone. "If you care for your own well being, I suggest you surrender yourself. And simply… become our hostage. Or Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether, you can give us the girl, because the rest of your aren't worth a penny I'm afraid. You can die." He and the robbed figures left the room from where they had been standing.

"I'm never turning into one of them, never!" Ashley declared.

"Got that right," Logan agreed. "We'll find a cure."

"But… how did he know about where we came from?" Liru asked.

"I don't like it," Uma said. "Maybe we'll find out."

After this was said a section in the floor for the main path came up, blocking the way. There was a design on it, shown a man on horse with a lance. He was facing off against a Greek Chimera. But there was only an indention for the beast, like the thing that made up it were missing. Cosmo took a closer look at it. "This section seems to be made up of three parts," the male android stated.

"Guess we need to find them," Aiko said.

"I see a side door over there," Pachira commented while pointing it out. "Let's start there."

The hallway here had some things to be found but no enemies. At the end there was a notice on the wall. It was another document for capturing Luis. It had confirmed that he had entered the castle. It was a moment that must be taken to get him. Then the group would be targeted. The document then went on to say the second male human had taken some vaccines when he stole the cult's sample. The vaccines they could do without but the sample had to be retrieved since it was their lifeblood. The notice went on to say there was somebody else or some other group involved in the whole offer. If the sample were to get into their hands, the world the cult seek to create wouldn't happen.

Then it was around a corner. Everyone noticed two statues of horse head that were sending out hot steam, making it impossible to go that way. To the right was a painting that had a silver colored key on it. Leon quickly grabbed this. It was then back to the hallway and then a turn to the right to a door that had a decorative face on it. "It's locked and pretty sturdy," Cosmo commented. "It's like a prison."

Leon tried the key and the door was unlocked. "Okay we need to only have a few go down," Nicholas commented. "This shouldn't take too long." He then turned to Pachira and Napoleon. "Okay, this time it's your turn since we did it with the chief."

"Fair enough," the male vampire replied. His girlfriend looked unsure but he sent her a smile.

The rest stayed behind with Ashley while Leon and the ones chosen went down the stairs. Sure enough it was a prison, or one of them in the castle. There was only one cell with a huge pillar in the middle. To the left and the right were small bells. The human and vampires went to the bars and saw a figure inside. It was a humanoid figure but was wearing an iron helmet that had large eyeholes. There was a chain around the neck that went down to the stomach. The chest and that area had no armor. But what got the female vampire where the eyes. They were stitched shut. The body was also showing signs of breathing while being chained to the wail.

Napoleon saw these things and signaled to step back quietly. The three did so. "What is that?" Pachira asked in a scared voice.

"Some other abomination," he stated. "And I bet it's not there for decoration. Due to how that thing has no eyes, I bet it'll use hearing to get around. And the fact that it's chained up may indicate this thing is a strong opponent. Unnaturally strong."

Leon crept forward and saw there was a lever next to the chained being. He carefully opened the door to the cell. The enemy didn't stir yet. The human went two more steps forward, on guard. Suddenly with a grunt the chained being broke free of the bindings. The monster yet out a yell and from the writs three claws emerged. Leon backed away fast and quietly. Napoleon then noticed a bell in the corner and shot at it. The sound of the bullet against it rang through the room, drawing the enemy to it. Pachira then spotted something on the back. "Wait, what's that?" she asked.

Looking showed that it was some kind of growth attached to the bare area of the enemy. "Another form of that thing that's made the enemy like zombies I guess," Napoleon replied and shot at it.

Doing so caused some tentacles to pop out. The monster grunted and quickly turned towards the male vampire who moved. Using the sounds to their advantage it took three more shots to make the enemy go down for the count. The thing on the back melted, but not the body. The three then moved to the lever and pulled it, which caused the horse statues to stop letting out the hot steam. "That was easy enough," Napoleon commented as they went back to the main group.

Before they could head far, enemies began to appear. The first two were killed quickly. Just beyond the horse head statues there were more that had to be shot down. Once cleared it was through two very tall doors. The group found themselves in a very large room that had pools of water and many cult members. "Now what?" Liru asked.

"Fight through them and find a better place to deal with them," Nicholas replied.

It didn't take long for the enemy to spot the group. Those from the nether knocked or short those that stood in the way. They, Kratos, and the two humans retreated to a small room that had two golden colored squares that were pressure switches. The cult members in the room followed only to find that thanks to this small space it was easy to defend and for the group to take them out. Even so they kept coming, a few having spiked wooden shields with the cult symbols on them. These were no match for the powerful guns Leon and Cosmo had. Once all the enemies had been killed the two pressure plates were stepped on which caused a stand with a crank to appear in the big room.

Going back, all the pots in here were smashed which held ammo and small items of use. More enemies had shown up and were quickly killed. A few had the limbs emerge from their necks. These didn't stand a chance. Then it was to the crank and Leon operated it. Doing this caused some stairs to lower revealing some more enemies with sickles. Once these had been killed it was up to the second area which had a bigger body of water and a balcony like area. Ashley then spotted something on the other side. "Look! There's a crank up there!" she stated while pointing to it.

Going to the sides, Leon was able to boost her up while those from the nether got up there on their own. The females went to where the crank was while the males killed more cult members that came out. Once the crank had be turned enough, a path across the water rose up, allowing the group to get to the next set of double doors. "Maybe now we can breath a little easier," Aiko whispered as they went through these.

Beyond these was one area that the group had seen before when finding the key to that prison. The weapon's merchant was here as well. Leon grabbed the items in here before approaching the merchant. Then the usual selling and buying happened. It was then down to the hallway here. But the group hadn't gotten far when Ashley began to cough hard and even had blood come out of her mouth. "You alright?" Leon asked, touching her shoulder, but she shook him off.

"I'm fine!" the female snapped. "Leave me alone!" She ran towards a section of the hallway that had indentations on the floor with the male human right behind her.

"Ashley wait!" Leon shouted.

Suddenly a row of tall spikes came out, stopping him from getting to Ashley since these were between the two. Another popped out which forced her back and to run since more came out until she was against a wall. The human leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Nicholas then noticed something about the place she was at and saw the indentations on it. "Wait…" the male werewolf said, having a nasty suspicion.

Suddenly metal bars came out from these indentations, going around Ashley and trapping her. Ashley out a cry of terror. "Shit!" the male werewolf cursed.

"Ashley!" Leon exclaimed.

"What's going on?!" the female human cried before the wall quickly turned and closed shut, taking her with it. The spikes then lowered.

"Don't worry Ashley; we're coming for ya!" Logan stated.

Suddenly the radio used to contact Runnigan went off and the human answered it. "Runnigan what happened?" Leon commented. "The transmission got cut off."

Suddenly a familiar cackling was heard as the image of Lalazar appeared. "Lalazar!" Nicholas sated with a snarl. "How'd the hell you?!"

"We've jacked the line," the enemy answered. "We didn't want you telling everyone any unnecessary information."

"Where's Ashley?!" Liru growled.

"Aw… So she fell into one of our wonderful traps. We'll make sure we find her. Don't you worry about her." Suddenly Lalazar seemed to be struck with a sudden thought by the look on his face that came out. "Oh yes. I let our miserable insects out for some exercise down in the sewer."

"Thanks," Leon replied sarcastically. "That should keep us company. Cuz boredom kills us."

"I look forward to our next encounter… In another life," the enemy said and cut the call.

The door to the sewer was right next to the group and Leon opened it. The stench hit Liru and Nicholas hard. "Damn…" he growled, covering his nose and trying to breathe in and out of his mouth. Kratos seemed to be fairing a bit better.

"Try to keep your ears open," Napoleon commented.

Everyone made it to the water like area. As soon as they did, they heard the sound of scurrying. "I see nothing," Uma said.

"Make no mistake, there's something here," Logan replied.

There were a couple items to find in here which Leon grabbed. Then he noticed a section on the wall that was off. The male human fired, revealing what had caused the scurrying. It was a horrible mutated insect of some kind with glowing eyes and clawed hands and feet. "Tricky little buggers," Cosmo joked around in an Australian accent.

"Not funny dude," Nicholas growled. "Talk about a pain in the ass."

The group noticed if they looked at the ground they could see the splashes made by the creatures since there was water. They couldn't fully turn invisible and hide their presence. Once the one in the hallway was killed, there were three more to deal with up ahead. These were easier to find since even though they stood still, their mass caused a disturbance on the water and were easy to find. Up ahead was more of them but in a bigger area. Even then these were killed. However the group did find another memo. "What is it this time?" Liru asked.

Looking showed it was from Luis. It had a number of drawing and pictures with it. The document began by saying there were some parasites that had the ability to control their hosts. It was basic knowledge among biologists but not much was know as to ho whet parasites did it. Studying the parasites specifically could reveal some clues as to how the thing that was causing the enemy to act the way they did. A parasite by the name of Las Lagas. And provide more insight on how the victims of this were called Los Lanados. At last this was the information about what was causing this. Then there came a list of some parasites that had the ability to manipulate behavioral patterns of their host.

"So that's it," Nicholas said. "With that diary we found now things are making sense. It's not a virus this time but an organism."

"But that still doesn't explain where they originated from," Napoleon stated. "Maybe we can find more information about that in here."

The memo was taken and then it was time to move on. One of the enemy insects was killed right away. However the group did discover a corpse that checking showed the male human was alive until just recently. That was a disturbing sight for the females. At least by looking at the wound on the body it was a quick death. Everyone then went forward. The path was blocked at one point so the group had to go around. It wasn't took hard to get on track which lead to a room that look like a pump room. "Alright let me at it," Cosmo said and turned the big rusted wheel.

Doing so caused some water that could be seen through the barred window to lower. There were also some items in here including a lamp that had butterfly patterns on it. But there appeared to be some sections missing. Once the group elf the room, two more enemies appeared which were quickly killed. It was then back around to where the new path was. Then finally at last the group went through a door that led to the a different room. But they stopped short when they saw it was a path with huge ax blades swinging across it. "Great…" Logan grumbled.

"Watch and learn," Nicholas said with a smirk.

The male werewolf waited for the blades to pass before jumping pass them. "See?" he stated. "Not that hard."

One by one the rest followed him and up a ladder. Then it was through another door. Instantly they heard the sound of cult members chanting below them. It was the same room they had been in but it was at the upper level. Leon signaled to the others to stay quite as they slowly crept forward. They saw a number of the enemy, including one with red robes and a ram skull mask complete with the horns. They were surrounding some kind of altar with the cult's symbol and strange purple like fire in two holders, one on each side. The males looked at this and got evil grins as they knew what would be most effective.

"Hand me a grenade," Logan stated and Leon gave one to him.

"Let's drop some lead on those mother-" stated Napoleon but the rest was cut off as the male wizard had tossed it right on target in the middle of the enemies. Leon used the chandelier to jump down to the floor below. Looking showed the grenade had killed all but the red robbed enemy. It wasn't too hard to deal with this last one, even when the Las Lagas emerged from the neck.

Once the stuff in here was gathered it was back upstairs and through a red door. Of course the weapons merchant was here so Leon took the time to sell some stuff and upgrade his guns. Now the group found themselves in a small hallway that lead to some kind of sitting area. There was a table that had a memo from the current castellan here. It was looked through. It stated for many years his family had served as castellans of the castle. But his ancestors had a dark past. Long ago there was a religious group that had deep roots in the region that was Los Riluminados. Lalazar stated that the first castellan of the castle took away their rights and powers. As a follower of this religion and as the 8th Castellan, he felt it was his duty and responsibility to atone for this sin. The best way was to give back the power to the cult. It took a little bit of time, but they were able to rejuvenate the once sealed Las Lagas. With this success Lalazar was one step close to the revival of Los Rilluminados. The resound he released this from deep under the castle and gave them to Ladder, was not only to repay the sins for his ancestors but also felt that the Lord would make better use of this power and save the world.

A picture of some kind of mine then was found. The memo then went on to saying to save these that have sinned with the power of Las Lagas and to cleanse their souls should creating a world without sinners. The way it was meant to be. Once cleansed, they would become ones of the many Lenados where they would find their reason to live. The memo ended with saying that after the Lord was successful in creating the world in which he envisioned, then the sins of Lalazar's family would be atoned for. Nicholas just took this along with all the other memos and documents that had been gathered so far. Liru then cocked her head to the side. "Do you hear that?" she stated. "Sounds like low chanting."

"More enemies," Uma said.

Leon kicked the next door open and more cult members, one of which pointed and shouted out to get them in the native language here, spotted the group. The room here was another big one with an upper level and paintings on the walls. The few enemies in here were all taken out. The last one had another key on them which was taken along with all the money and small items found. The key was used on the door that would take them along to some kind of gallery. Here a puzzle happened where the paintings had to match six people being shown in order for a hidden wall to open up. It wasn't too hard to figure this out and a wall did move away to reveal a hidden door.

The group walked out of it into another big room. There a familiar shaped shadow came into view. Kratos growled as Lalazar appeared with his three body guards on the level above the group. "What a pleasant surprise," the enemy said. "But I'm afraid it's Ashley we need. Not you Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether."

"If you don't need us, then get off our backs old man!" Leon snapped.

The short male let out a mock gasp. "Did you say old man Mr. Rennedy? It might come as a surprise, but I'm only 20 years old!"

"So you're just like the others?!" Nicholas snarled. "A puppet of the parasites?!"

"Surly you don't think I'm the same as those dimwitted Lanados. The parasites, those organisms are slaves to my will! I have… absolute control."

"Well we don't really give a fuck!" Napoleon snarled. "Rain or shine, you're going down!"

Suddenly a couple hidden walls moved to reveal more cult members with weapons. The group was on guard. "Get rid of our American and nether world friends," Lazar ordered them and left the room with his guards. The doors leading out had bars suddenly appear, making the way out no good.

The group spilt into small groups to take out these enemies. A few that went upstairs found a security system of some sorts that was deactivated by them. Doing so caused a huge platform to rise from the ground that had a chest. Suddenly a painting moved to reveal two more cult members that had rocket launchers. "Shit!" Logan cursed, seeing this. Cosmo quickly killed them before they could fire. Meanwhile their girls found a switch that when pressed caused a section to extend to the platform with the chest. Leon was then able to open it up which had a metal goat's head in it, similar to one of the things missing from the Greek Chimera indentation from the room where Lalazar had first been run into. Doing so caused the bars for the doors to go away. The group quickly killed the rest of the enemy before leaving. Of course they took the time to smash the pots in here and gather the items.

The next part was a small hallway with windows. At the end were two doors. The one on the left was taken which led to a small flight of stairs to another door. On the other side was some kind of outdoor terraces balcony but one that was worn down. There was a working fountain that had a few small items in it. Then it was onto the rest of the path which had a few barrels that had to be broken. These also had items which were taken. Then it was through a double set of doors. This ended up leading to a garden of some kind. While it was well kept and had paths through it like a maze with chest and a fountain, there was a dark feeling to it. "I don't like this," Pachira stated. 'When I get my own no way it'll look like this."

"You said it," Napoleon agreed.

"Well no other choice but to go through it," Nicholas said.

There was a door that was passed but it couldn't be opened. There was an indention here though which meant something went in it. So that meant heading down into the garden. Before the group could take a step into it the radio Leon had went off. It was Lalazar. "Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether. Still alive I see," the enemy commented. "So, do you like my garden?"

"I see you've managed to work in a little of your twisted taste here to," Leon replied.

The enemy let out a cackle. "Sagacious as I am, even I get lost here sometimes. Even if it takes your whole life, none of you will get out. Do you know no one dies without a cause? All of you will satisfy the stomachs of my cute pets. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tie up a few loose ends. Like chasing down a couple of rats." The call was ended but that last sentience stood out.

"Two rats?" Liru stated. "That doesn't seem right."

"If one's Luis… Who's the other?" Uma asked.

"So… there's another intruder besides us?"

"Glad to see you two are thinking the same like us," Cosmo said.

Now it was down to the garden. Leon kicked the main gate open. There were a couple of barrels that had items in them. However after going a few more steps Kratos let out a growl, teeth bared in a snarl. The rest then heard the sound of other footsteps that belonged to some kind of animal. Two then rounded the corner, showing they were dogs like him but clearly on the enemy's side. Killing them proved this as their bodies melted away. It was then through another gate which lead to a side wall of the castle. "Huh… nothing here," Aiko said, looking.

"Wait… there's something…" Nicholas commented, sniffing the air. Kratos was as well. The two then turned to the right and saw a small cage that was the perfect size for holding a human with a small space. Inside was another dog who looked just like Kratos. But this one wasn't an enemy since it looked up and whined.

"Oooh," Liru cooed. "It's another dog like him. Oh and she looks in pain and is scared."

"It might be a trap," Nicholas said. But that thought was thrown away a second latter as he saw Kratos go right up to the cage to her. The male werewolf knew the canine would never do that to a hostile dog.

Kratos was nose to nose with the dog who turned the head to him with a small wag of the tail. The second dog then turned over, revealing it was a female. "Oh she's a pretty girl," Liru cooed and went over. The female canine looked to her and seemed to get a smile as her tongue came out and her tail began to wag a bit harder. The blonde hair werewolf turned to look at her boyfriend. "Oh we can't just leave her here. She'll probably be injected with the parasite and be worse than dead. Please?"

Nicholas came over and took a look at her himself. The female dog also began to wag her tail when seeing him. "Well… I think she knows we're going to help her," he replied. "Unlike with Kratos when I first met him, I don't think leaving her here is a good idea. However… I don't know if she's in the best condition. Give me a sec."

The male werewolf went to the door of the cage which had a lock and broke it easily. He then went in. Kratos was right behind him and the female dog went on her back, all four paws up. The male canine was by her face, clearly interested. "Awwww he likes her already," Liru cooed. "How sweet."

Nicholas just smiled and began to look at her body by touching with his hands. Only on the areas like the ribs, ears, and stomach. "As far as I can tell she's fine. A little underfed, but it won't be a problem. I think it's the treatment by being in here all the time and seeing the horrors of the others. I'm not talking the condition of the cage of food. But I can tell in some places she's been hit. Just powerful enough ones to turn her into a fighting, killing animal. But I need more help."

Cosmo came over, catching the drift. He did another scan like with Kratos. "Looks like she checks out to by not being infected," the male android stated. "Far as I can tell she's also two and fully grown physically and is capable of having pups."

"Wait…. you mean….?" Nicholas asked.

"Yeah, she hasn't been fixed like Kratos."

"Well… I don't think we should keep the two like that."

"Oh no, couldn't… couldn't we let them have pups?" Liru asked.

"Liru… we don't even know if they'll become mates," her boyfriend stated. "Besides… it's actually healthier for them if they are spayed and nurtured."

"Just one litter… If they don't then fine. But let them have a chance, please? They'd be so cute!" She was getting that sad, big puppy dog eyed look again.

"Now's not the time to discuss this," Nicholas stated. "Let's worry about it until latter, okay?" The female just nodded her head, beaten for now. "Still… she needs a good name. Would you like to name her?"

"Venus," his girl replied without missing a beat.

"Yeah… I like it," her guy agreed. He turned to her. "Come on girl. You're coming with us." Venus, the newest addition got up, and let out a happy bark. With Kratos right by her side, the three left the cage. Venus went up to everyone to sniff them over, the male canine always on her left. The same spells that he had were casted on the newest canine. It was obvious she was already going to fit in.

"Good girl," Nicholas said, patting her head.

"Now we've got two dogs," Leon said. "So be it. Let's move on."

The group then moved on. Venus stayed right by Kratos the whole time. Although they had just met, a connection and bond had already been formed between the two upon seeing each other. Leon was the one to lead the way. Everyone could still hear the growling of other hostile canines. Every time one appeared, the male human would shoot it without mercy. A couple the group noticed had Las Lagas tentacles sprouting from the back. After a bit more walking around, everyone found some steps that walking up led to a fountain. Here one half of a moonstone like plate was found. "I think that goes in that indentation we found before," Uma said and took the half.

"The other should be close by," Logan stated.

The other half was found at another statue. "That should do it," Pachira commented. "Let's get back to that door."

The group did so but Leon was cautious. He took the halves and placed them in the door, heading in first. He stepped into some kind of master bedroom. Before the guy could go far, he felt a gun on his back. "Put your hands where I can see them," went a female voice.

"Sorry, but following a lady's lead isn't my style," he replied.

"Put them up, now."

Leon suddenly moved and managed to get the woman's gun arm in a lock. Before he could pry it out of her hand, the female moved and kicked up while flipping forward. This not only caused the male human to let go, but also flip the gun up in the air. Leon quickly had his combat knife out and in a reverse grip. He moved forward just as the woman got on her feet and grabbed the gun. She then found his blade against her throat before the gun could be put in a firing position. "Bit of advice, try using knives next time; works better for close encounters" Leon told her.

He took the gun away and unloaded it before tossing it to the side. The rest from the nether and the dogs then came in. "You okay?" Nicholas commented. "We heard the scuffle of combat." They then noticed the woman and saw her short black hair, and dress that was sexy but could work in combat. It was red and those from the nether realized it was the same person who had helped them out with getting rid of the chief of the village when they had gone into his house.

"Wait… you're…" Liru said as the scent of the woman hit her nose. It was all too familiar. It was the same for her guy as well.

"Yes. Long time no see," the woman said and took of her sunglasses. "I see you guys from the nether are still alive and have dogs now."

"Ada," Leon stated. "So it is true."

"True? About what."

"You. Working with Desker."

"What?!" Napoleon exclaimed. This was news to those from the nether. But it was the only reason why Ada knew where they had come from since Desker had been told before his betrayal with F.I.L.E.S.

The others were just as shocked as Ada dropped her glasses. "I see you've been doing your homework," she replied.

Nobody noticed that on one frame the words, about to explode, had appeared. "Why Ada?" Leon asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Why are you here? Why'd you show up like this?"

She smirked and looked to the side. A sound from the glasses then went off and the thing exploded, sending out a bright light. Those from the nether tried to shield their eyes but some of the exposure still got them, "Damn it!" Nicholas growled, a bit blinded. Since they all had enhanced sight, this was perfect for Ada to escape. Even Leon was affected by it to.

Ada quickly grabbed her fallen gun. "See you around," she stated to the male human before jumping out the window.

"Ada!" he exclaimed.

He went to the window and didn't see her. "Okay you want to tell us what the hell you mean she's working for that bastard Desker?" Nicholas snarled at Leon.

"All I know she was requited by him," the male human replied.

"Doesn't matter, she's an enemy now. If she tries anything funny, we're taking her in. Now let's keep moving."

The room had a few small items that were taken. Then in the next room the weapon's merchant was found. There was also another memo on the table, talking about Ada. The memo went on to say that the cult believed her to be connected with Luis. They also believed it was her that had removed the egg injected into him before it hatched. And that it may have been her that had him retrieve the "sample" before Leon and other from the nether's arrival. It was obvious that Ada's objective was the "sample" and the cult had to be her before she reestablished contact with Luis. The cult also had reason to believe that she was working for somebody and would need to be kept alive for interrogation. The memo ended by saying that Ada should be able to answer all of their questions. After capturing her, Luis wouldn't be any concern. When the "sample" was retrieved, he could be disposed of.

Nicholas took this while Leon did the usual business with the weapon's merchant. Then Pachira found a real treasure in one of the clothes cabinets here; a mirror that was beautiful and lined with rubies and pearls. "Oooh this is so pretty," she said, showing Napoleon it.

"Seems a shame to sell it," he commented. "I bet you can make use of this back home. Let's take it and make sure it makes it though this."

Logan was able to help with that, sending the mirror to a safe place by magic that could be retrieved latter. Now that Leon was finished with the merchant, the group went out of the room by the main door leading to it. They found themselves in a hallway with some kind of panels that were decorated on each side. Going a bit forward found themselves in a dining room that was quite the rich looking one. Before they went through the main door which had bars a quick detour to the left which led to a small room. After the items in here were taken, it was back to the dinning room. Uma rang a bell on a counter which caused a painting of a feast to appear. After shooting at the bottle of wine, the bars to the door leading to the next area went away.

Inside this room there was a single chest. "I wonder what's in it," Liru stated and took one step towards it.

"No, wait!" Nicholas shouted. Too late, bars came down around it and enemies appeared.

The group fired at whoever they could. Some went out of the room to lure the enemies out to a bigger area. When the last were killed, Cosmo opened the chest to find an hourglass with gold decor. This was another treasure the group was going to keep and he had Logan send it to where the mirror had been placed. Then it was through a side door to the next area. Going forward everyone heard the sound of low murmuring from the enemy and snuck to the edge of the path since they were up on a higher level. They saw cult members, two of which were in front of a lever. "This is too perfect," Cosmo stated. "Time to snipe."

He and Leon did so but when the second enemy's head was shot, instead of the limb, the group noticed the parasite was a different form with multiple legs, and a tail that detached itself and scurried towards them. Uma got it with some fire from her wand. "That's not what we've seen them look like," Pachira pointed out.

"It must be a third form," Napoleon said.

The rest of the enemies were killed. Once they were the lever was pulled which caused a path to rise up from the floor that could be used to get to the next door. More enemies came out and were killed. However there was a room right next to this one that was looked into. There were items here including some in a glass case. One of these was an actual rocket launcher with one missile in it. "Damn, now that's what I'm talking about," Cosmo stated as he picked it up. "This thing's gotta have some serious firepower to take out a wall or blow a hole in one."

"One of us needs to take that, it'll come in handy," Leon said. Nobody else wanted to so the human took the weapon.

Now it was through the door. Then it was a short hallway to the next area. Little did they know tragedy was about to strike. They emerged into another section and could see this was quite the big one since everyone saw the edge and could tell there was a floor below them. "Now what?" Liru asked.

"Just keep moving forward," Nicholas said.

Suddenly the door behind them opened. The group turned to see Luis. "Hey guys!" he stated. He then held up both hands. The right had a bottle while the other had a sample like bottle that had a purple liquid of some kind in it. "I've got it!"

Suddenly those from the nether heard the sound of him being stabbed from behind and Luis's arms dropped to his sides. Venus and Kratos let out growls and Leon could tell something was wrong. Suddenly some kind of spike came out of the second human's chest, bloody from stabbing him. A long limb with a mixture of dark blood red and grey then lifted Luis up. "LUIS!" Leon exclaimed.

Suddenly another limb came from nowhere, knocking those from the nether down. It was a hard hit so they weren't going to get up in time. Kratos and Venus were able to dodge it but wisely stood back. Meanwhile the sample case fell from the second human's hand right into Ladder's. The limb that had impaled Luis tossed him to the ground. Leon ran up to him. Nicholas was able to raise himself up enough to watch as the limb retreated under Ladder's robes. It meant they had come from him. "Now that I have the sample, you serve me no purpose," he stated.

"Ladder!" Leon exclaimed in anger.

"My boy Lalazar will make sure all of you follow the same fate." The cult leader then left.

The first male human went to the second's side. "Stay with me Luis!" he said, noticing that blood had already begun to pool around the body.

"I am a researcher…" Luis said weakly. "Hired… by Ladder. He found out what I was up to." He tired to laugh but was cut short.

"Don't talk!"

Leon tried to stop the bleeding, but Luis threw his hands off. "Here!" he gasped, handing the bottle to the first human. "It should suppress growth of the parasite. The sample… Ladder took it! You have to get it back!" The second human's head then fell to the ground and died.

"LUIS!" Leon exclaimed. "LUIS!"

Those from the nether finally were able to rise up. The male human looked at the bottle and saw there were pills inside. One half was clear the other red. "He's going to pay for his death, I promise," Nicholas growled, referring to Ladder killing the second human.

Suddenly the group heard the sound of a female grunt, one they all knew too well. "Wait… that's Ashley!" Uma said.

Going to the edge and saw her in the same trap against a wall. Leon took out his sniper riffle and shot the first holding, causing the female human to yell out. "Oh shut up would you?!" Napoleon snarled.

The male human quickly had the rest shot off. "Talk about near death experience," Ashley said after getting her breath back and walking away from the wall. Suddenly two doors, one on each side, opened up to reveal enemies.

"Take cover!" Nicholas ordered.

Napoleon and Pachira were the only ones who could get down quickly and fight due to being vampires. The rest had to stay behind. Once all the enemies were killed, they and Ashley took a key that had fallen from one of the cult members. Using this they were able to unlock a door and found themselves in a smaller area of the castle. "Stay close to us, and hold anything we find," Napoleon said to Ashley.

Thanks to these two, there was no need to sneak around the few cult members that were here. The vampires just killed them quickly. The three soon came to some kind of room that was a small study with a bookshelf and bed. There were also two cranks in front of a door with two sets of bars. The females worked these and got the way opened up. It was then through a blue door but that way was no good at the moment due to needing an item to pass. There was however a memo by a butler that worked for Lalazar. According to it, the guy had no family, and that Ladder must have used his strong faith in the cult to his advantage to talk Lalazar into undoing the seal of the Las Lagas once done by his ancestors. Lalazar would never have done such a thing unless he was in some way being used unknowingly. The butler should have sense the Lord's dirty scheme sooner and felt partly responsible for all of this. He had no ideas what Ladder was planning but Lalazar was just being used. It was too late as he had the Lagas in his body. There was no turning back once the parasites turned into adult bodies. They would not die unless the host died. There was no cure. Perhaps Lalazar may have even vaguely aware of Ladder's plan all along. But it was hard to tell. The memo then ended with saying there was nothing the butler could do about it now. He had served the family for generations and was prepared to continue until the very end.

Napoleon took this, knowing Nicholas would want it. It was then out of this room and through a wooden door. This place was dark and appeared to be some kind of unused area. There were gates though that could be opened by pressing switches. It was a bit of a puzzle but not too hard of one. The first item found here was some kind of stone tablet with a bit of a design on it. Then it was through another door into a dark set of corridors. "Careful, who knows what the hell is here," the male vampire told the other two with him.

It was a straightforward path that led to another dark room. There were full suits of knight armor with a petistal in the middle of the room. On this were slabs that could be moved around. Pachira got the pieces arranged to form the symbol but there was one missing. Ashley placed the tablet found, completing the picture. A door opened up which led to one last room. It was dark but on a head bust of a knight in armor the three a round insignia, the item missing from the room where the memo had been found. Once this was taken, the bust rotated on an axis, revealing a chest. Then the door slammed shut behind the group. 'Shit!" Napoleon stated.

Pachira opened the chest to find an ornament that had a snake's tail with two back legs. "Hey haven't we seen something like this before?"

"Yeah… were we first ran into Lalazar," her guy replied. "It's one of those missing pieces."

The three then turned after he pocketed it and heard the sound of iron footsteps. "No way…" the male groaned. They then saw that one of the suits was moving. "You two go! I'll hold it off!"

Ashley and Pachira ran out of the room while he fired at it, and was right behind them. The three were quickly back in the corridor, but at certain points, they were stopped since there were some suits of armor that came alive to take a slice before fallen apart. They soon made it back to the room where the insignia was needed. This was used on a device that could be turned and caused a wall to move which revealed a ladder. They climbed up and followed the path to a door which got them to wear the rest of the group was.

"Leon!" Ashley exclaimed after opening the door.

"Ashley!" he replied. She ran up to him and the two hugged. "You did good!"

"I'm sorry if I was…" the female human began but then trailed off.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Nicholas said with a grin.

"Now let's move on," Logan commented.

"Actually… You may want these," Napoleon said and handed all the items and memo found which were taken and read. It left the rest surprised by this. Before anything could be said, the radio Leon had went off. Answering it showed it was Lalazar.

"Aw… what a touching moment we have here," the enemy said.

"All spoiled thanks to your interruption," Leon snarled. "Why don't you do us all a favor and leave before the audience gets pissed off?"

Lalazar let out a cackle. "All of you are nothing but extras in my script so don't get too carried away. Your biggest scene is over."

"We don't ever remember being a part of your fucking script," Nicholas growled.

"Well then, why don't you show me what a first-class script is like; through your own actions." The call was ended and before the group left the room, the items in here were collected.

The next room was also quite large to. The group noticed the path split in two, with one down a hall and another across a pit of what was actually lava. "Well, this is interesting and twisted," Nicholas commented, looking down to it.

Leon noticed a moving platform that could be used to cross and get to the other side. He along with Logan, Napoleon, and Cosmo volunteered to go ahead. The rest would stay behind. There was another door that they went through. The other side showed that the lava was coming from here. There were three dragon head statues that were held by chains and had small structures on them. There was a single path across the lava where at the very end was a chest. But part of the path was missing. The four males went forward and cult members began to appear. The dragon heads began to breath fire. Leon and Cosmo snipped the ones on the dragon heads to their doom. Since the path was now clear, it was onto moving forward. The guys did but had to then go through a gape that was timed by a gate that was rotating around. They got past this just fine and killed the rest of the cult members standing in their way. Once all these enemies were killed some stairs appeared, allowing them to get to the chest at the end of the path.

Inside was the last missing ornament and was the lion one needed for the room where Lalazar had first been encountered. There were also other treasures and items to get. All these were taken and the four made it back to the others. It was then down the hall to what appeared to be a carriage seat on wheels with a track system. "It's not that big," Aiko commented. "It looks like only four people can sit comfortably on it."

"We could either do multiple trips or all try to cram on," Nicholas said. "I'm for the former."

It took several trips but soon everyone made it. After going through another door, the group found themselves right where they had first met Lalazar. They went up to the block in the road and inserted the missing pieces to open the path. It was then a short one to an outside area with another transportation system. Looking outside showed another area of the castle in the distance. Turns were taken again and soon the group found themselves at a new area. After going through a couple of doors, they arrived at a square shaped room with pressure plates and knight suits of armor on stone blocks. Everyone stood on one while Leon pushed the blocks to get the rest of the plates that needed a weight. They went through the new door and saw it was some kind of room with a huge panting of a lady in grey in the middle. And Lalazar was standing in front of it.

"I think you've lived long enough," he stated. "Let's see if you can survive this time."

He raised his right hand up and the door behind the group slammed shut, causing them to whirl around to it and some of the females to gasp. Suddenly the ceiling began to lower and spikes came out. "NO!" Ashley cried as everyone got it that this was a trap to crush them. Leon saw Lalazar cackle and run out of the room. The males from the nether noticed there were four glowing red spots and shot at them, causing the ceiling to stop. The group quickly ran after the enemy down a long corridor. There was a small doorway that some made it through. Then bars came out, trapping the others. At the end of the hall, a drill machine been controlled by two cult members. It was headed towers the others. Leon quickly snipped them and the bars moved allowing the others to move since the machine kept coming. It was stopped by running into another wall. The group let out a breath and then began to search the place for items since appeared to be a storage area for wine and other things.

There was a chest in here that had a grail in it that had an outline of a woman's face. Nicholas then found in a drawer a chess board with a complete set of pieces for two players in a rare design. He had Logan send this with the other treasures for themselves latter. It was then through a door that led the group back to the pressure switch room. But this time it was through a door on the left that led to a long hallway. There was a door on the right were the weapon's merchant was. Leon did the usual business with him quickly. It was then back into the hallway and towards the next door. They found themselves in a more richly decorated hallway. However, after turning a corner, Nicholas noticed something. "Wait!" he stated.

Everyone did so, looking at him with confusion. "What is it?" Liru asked.

"Look at the knights in the hallway," he said, pointing out the ones that were on either side in black armor. Leon was able to spot it.

"Some of them have raised weapons," the male human said. "Ashley, you'd better wait here."

He went forward with some of the males from the nether. It was a good thing since two of the knights brought their weapons down to kill them. The group were able to dodge them and the suits came apart. They then went around a corner into a large circular room that had busts of knights in suits on the walls. There was a single table in the center with another grail. Leon went over to it and read the inscription. "May wrath of evil befall the one who disturbs this Holy Grail."

Looking closer showed it was the same as the one before but had the outline of man's face. "What do we do?" Cosmo asked.

"We should take it but after what we've found so far, who knows what could happen," Nicholas said.

Leon took the item. Instantly the door behind slammed shut. Sections of the surrounding wall turned to reveal suits of knight armor. They suddenly came alive and began to advance towards the small group. "You've gotta be fucking kidding!" Napoleon snarled. Cosmo fired at the heads. It caused them to stop and those parts shake violently but then the armor began to advance again. Leon took a turn. This time Lagas limbs emerged. The male human and male android threw flash grenades, which when exploded, instantly vaporized the parasites. It showed these thing couldn't handle bright flashes of light. The suits of armor fell apart. However when these enemies were defeated, more came out, this time wearing black colored armor. The group was able to knock the helmets off but the Lagas that emerged were in the second stage. Flash grenades were still able to quickly take them out.

When all the enemies were killed the seal door became unsealed. The small group returned to the others. It was then back to the hallway. Right in front of them on a table was another memo. It was about Luis being killed. The memo started by saying he had been disposed of by Lord Ladder. The sample was back where it belonged. The person writing it had hoped that the whole matter could have been resolved without troubling the Lord. However, as long as the sample was safe, the cult could rejoice for their time was nearly at hand. Now that the sample was back in safe hand it would be more difficult for Ada to get it. It was unfortunate that Luis had to go. The memo said he would have had a bright future if only he had shown more faith in the cult's beliefs. As for the Americans and those from the nether, Ladder had left the matter to the cult members in the castle. They weren't to disappoint him. They would capture Ashley and take her to Ladder while disposing of the others.

This was taken and then down the long hallway and a side path to another. At the very end of this were cult members guarding it. These were all killed. At the door were two busts of a king and queen with their hands up to hold something. The appropriate grails were placed in each one which unlocked the door. Another long hallway greeted the group but there was nothing there. They went through the door at the end and found themselves at in a large room with windows. The ground was grey and parts of it were missing that showed what appeared to be a bottomless pit. On the ceiling was a huge hive of some kind that made strange sounds and had parts of it moving. The color was black and deathly white. "What the hell is that?" Logan asked.

Nobody noticed or sensed the beings coming in at a high speed. Suddenly some of the same types of insects that had been fought in the sewers swooped down and grabbed Ashley, Uma, Pachira, and Aiko. Others came out to knock those from the nether down. The females grabbed yelled out while the witch, female android, and vampire tried to fight their attackers. But the insects holding them were able to hold down their weapon arm and knock them unconscious with a blow to the head. More appeared to knock the rest from the nether off their feet so they couldn't fight back. "Ashley!" Leon yelled as he could only watch her be carried off.

He saw the others coming in and fired at them. The rest from the nether were able to rise up and yelled out to take out the enemy. They even manage to shoot the hive down after going on a small path outside. There was even a chest that had another butterfly lamp in it. The enemies killed had parts missing from it. Logan sent it with the other treasures for the group, knowing Uma would love it. But this wasn't enough to satisfy the guys whose girls had been taken. "Damn it all!" the wizard stated. "Uma… If they so much as touch her I swear I'll burn them with my magic!"

"Pachira…" Napoleon whispered, his teeth barred in a snarl. "I swear if they even touch her, they'll all be killed."

"We're going to find them, calm down," Nicholas said.

"Easy for you to say!" Cosmo shouted and pointed at finger at the male werewolf. "At least Liru is still with you! She hasn't been taken from you!"

"Enough!" the long haired male snarled. "Us fighting is the worst thing we can do! If we're to rescue all four of them we need to stay focus! How do you think I feel about letting Ashley and the others be captured like that?! That could have just as easily have been Liru! Even if it had happened I'd been running like hell to find her instead of arguing like this!"

"But why not me?" the female werewolf asked. "Not that I wanted to be caught, but why didn't they grab me?"

"I don't know. Let's not think about it too much. Maybe because you're the bigger threat and those bugs couldn't handle you."

"Then let's move instead of standing here," Leon said.

The male human noticed a lever against one part of the wall. Going over to it, he pulled it. The bridge that was suppose to come down only went a bit of the way since it was held back by chains. Leon quickly shot at these and the bridge went fully down. The group went across it and through another door. Behind it was the weapon merchant and the male human quickly did the usual business with him. Then it was down the hallway and through a door that led outside. Looking showed there was a tower in front of them with a couple enemies on the second floor. Before they could fully take the sights in, the radio Leon had went off and he answered.

"I wonder if you can see me, Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether?" Lalazar asked.

"If you so much as scratch them but especially Pachira, I'll break your bones!" Napoleon snarled.

"If you so much as lay a finger on Uma, I'll fry you!" Logan shouted.

"If you so much as touch Aiko, I'll break your neck!" Cosmo warned the enemy.

"First, we shall see if you can make it this far. I'll be waiting." The call was then cut.

Leon took out his binoculars to look. He saw that the tower in front of them was some kind of clock one. He then looked to the right and saw the next section the group had to go to. There was no bridge, but he saw Lalazar with his thee guards. Ashley and the others taken prisoner were being forced to walk behind the short human through a door to the next area. "Shit!" Leon stated.

The group went forward and the cult members began to attack. Some even went to catapults to use. Everyone waited for the shots to finish before crossing over to the first tower and going around to get to safety. They went up some stairs and fought their way through the cult members to get inside the tower. They saw that there were gears in here to operate the clock and bridge that would get them to the next area. They noticed though that there were pieces of wood stuck between the gears. However only the one on their level could be shot off. Leon took care of it. He then spotted two more and found those could be shot at even if they were higher up. It was then up a ladder. The male human kept climbing until he reached the top. Nicholas went with him and there on a table, they found another memo.

It was about the preparations about a ritual. It started by saying thanks to the Lovistadors, which had to be the insect like enemies seen before, they had been able to recapture Ashley and some of the females from the nether. The cult would prepare for the sacred ritual as quickly as possible and make Ashley an official member of Los Rilluminados. Those from the nether couldn't since their biology made the parasite not compatible with them. This could be tell because the eggs that had been injected could no longer be sensed in their bodies. The girls from the nether would be dealt with after Ashley had fully joined.

The memo then went on to order those who felt inclined to attend with Leon and the others while the ritual was being prepared. The group should be able to be held off at least a little while by jamming the gears in the clock tower. Three places were enough to give the cult enough time to prepare everything for the ritual. It ended with saying to attend to Leon and the rest. Nicholas looked up at Leon. "So that's why only you've shown symptoms," the werewolf stated. "I thought it was odd me and my friends weren't having any effects like you. I suspected as much, but this proves we can't be infected."

"Guess we'd better move," Leon stated and found the lever that worked the tower. He pulled it which caused the gears to turn. The bridge outside moved which would get the group to the next area. Suddenly cult members showed up but they were killed. Leon and Nicholas fought their way down to the others. It was then out the main door and they found more members heading toward them. Leon and Cosmo snipped off the ones coming on the bridge. More enemies emerged and a grenade was tossed. Once all these enemies were killed, the males, canines, and Liru went into a hallway that had a few enemies, including two who had the extendable claws. The male android and human snipped off two of the members which alerted the ones with claws. Once all the enemies were killed, the pots in the room were smashed to get at the items in them. Then came one more hall and another set of doors.

Before they could go in, Nicholas quickly told the others what the memo had stated about those from the nether being immune to the parasite. He then turned to Liru. "Listen… whatever is in there, I want you behind us. If anything happens to have you taken to-"

She rushed towards him, throwing her arms around her boyfriend. "Don't say things like that," the female told him. "Even if I do, I know you'll come get me. And I'm not the kind of girl to sit back and just wait."

The two looked the other in the eyes and he couldn't help but smile. "Just do so, okay?" His girlfriend nodded and the group went in.

They noticed that it was a thrown room. The group instantly spotted Ashley and the others captured, being held at spear point by two of Lalazar's guards that were wearing the dark blood red robes, and black robes. The third wasn't in here. "Ashley!" Leon called to her.

She looked up as did the others. "Leon!" she cried.

He, Nicholas, Napoleon, and the dogs went forward to help while the others were behind them, stepping on a center square in the middle of the room with a flower design. They then heard the cackle of the main enemy and saw the short male human on his thrown. "Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether," said Lalzar. "Don't any of you know when it's time to throw in the towel?"

The guy hit a button on the right arm rest of the thrown. The candles that were lit, suddenly had the flames move, like a breeze came in. Those on the square saw this and before they could move, the floor opened, revealing a long pit. The male human fell while Nicholas and Napoleon both grabbed Kratos and Venus as they fell as well. The spells on the two canines could only make them float, so the sudden added weight was too much. The three guys and canines fell. "NO!" Ashley and the others cried out. Suddenly the third guard came out and knocked those at the top still out quickly.

Nicholas and Napoleon's grip on Kratos and Venus got tighter. All three males threw out grappling hooks. These lines managed to hook onto something. Lalazar above was listening through an ear piece attached to a tube. "Hmmm, where's the satisfying sound of their impalement?" he asked.

Down in the shaft, Nicholas looked down and saw the spikes that were large right down below in some kind of different sewer. "That mother fucker…" he growled. Kratos and Venus were being still in his arm and Napoleon's.

Leon saw the receiving end above. "Don't fall for this old trick," he snarled and brought out his handgun. He shot at the receiving end which made a loud nose, causing the enemy on the thrown to jump and make a funny noise of surprise.

"How dare you!" he yelled and rose up, stomping his feet in a child like tantrum. "No more games! Kill them!" Those held at spear point looked up, hearing these words. "Kill!"

The two guards left to deal with the small group. The third guard in grey colored robes came up to awaken the others and push them forward with its spear. "Quickly! We shall prepare for the ritual!"

Singling the remaining guard, the being prodded the prisoners forward. "Leon…" Ashley whispered. "You and the guys are alive…" The rest from the nether were still a little weakened from the blows and couldn't respond. Their weapons ended up being taken away while some were put in special bindings so they couldn't use their power.

The small group down below made it to the ground below. "Shit that would kill," Napoleon said, touching one of the spikes. They could even see a couple dead bodies impaled on them along with others scattered around. Suddenly Leon's radio went off, showing the enemy was calling them.

"So maybe you have nine lives, but it doesn't matter now Mr. Rennedy and the remaining nether world members!" Lalazar stated. "I have the rest with me! And I've sent my right and left hands to dispose of you!"

"Your left and right hands come off?" the taller human asked.

"Hmph. Say whatever you please. DIE YOU WORMS!" The call was violently cut off.

The smell of decay and filth was very overpowering. There were even bats in here which also added to the smell with their waste. Kratos and Venus were in pain so Nicholas tied up a bit of his clothes to cover up their sensitive noises. He on the other hand had to breath in and out of his mouth. There was a ladder which everyone climbed up even if the dogs needed a little help. This took them to a water way and the smell wasn't as bad but still there. It was pretty much dark in here. For the male werewolf and vampire this was no problem. Leon's eyes quickly adjusted as did Kratos and Venus's eyes. The group quickly moved down the hallway, unaware that they were being followed by the two guards right away.

The small group made it to a door and through it, finding themselves in an old aqueduct that was part of the sewers of the structure. The smells was pretty much gone so Nicholas and the dogs could breath normally again. They went down the hallway only to find the path then split. "Let's just keep going down the straight one," Nicholas said.

They kept going, but stopped when they saw a tall tank against the left wall. "What is it?" Leon asked.

Napoleon looked and read the label. "Liquid Nitrogen," he said. "This might come in handy for something."

They then moved forward but then everyone could hear the sound of growling. "Watch your step…" Nicholas whispered. Suddenly the three males jumped back as two black colored tails came out at lighting speed to stab them. These thing then retreated.

"It must be what that bastard was talking about with sending his hands to dispose of us," Napoleon said. "It must be two of his personal guard."

The small group moved but had to crouch since the enemies tried to grab them. They then went through a door that led to a control room. They made their way to the back of it and had to dodge another attack from the enemy. Once that was done Leon noticed a power box, one that was for an elevator. He pulled it and made its power come back on. Suddenly the door they had come through became shut with sliding door. They then saw it would take about four minutes for the elevator to arrive. "Just four?" Nicholas commented. "That feels like an eternity when fighting off enemies like this."

They went back to the door and saw it had to be locked down for safety reasons. "Hope it's only temporary," Leon said and pressed a button to open the shutter. This didn't work.

Suddenly the enemy descended and revealed themselves to the group. Venus and Kratos let out growls while the males finally saw what the robes had been hiding. They were both black with clawed feet. The hands like seen with the cloaks had three clawed fingers. While not muscular something told the group these things were quite strong. The eyes were still glowing but the heads had no noses but mandible like mouths. "So that's what they really look like," the vampire in the group growled as Nicholas drew his katana. With a roar, the male werewolf transformed.

The one on the left lunged forward as did Nicholas. His sword made contact, but no visible damage appeared. "Damn it!" he growled. "It's too fast and that skin is resistant to damage!"

Leon managed to avoid the attack from the second one. He retreated and found another container of liquid nitrogen. The human knocked it over and the enemies got caught up in the chemical. Instantly their movements slowed as their body took on an icy appearance. They began to wither in pain. The three males attacked the two enemies with everything they had. Nicholas kept Kratos and Venus back just in case attacking these things might get them infected. However, this freezing effect didn't last long and with a shake of the muscles, the monsters were able to return to normal.

"Take the dogs and find more nitrogen!" Napoleon said to Leon. "Me and Nicholas we'll keep them busy!"

The canines and human tried to find more but there weren't any. "No good!" he said to the males from the nether.

"Shit; you've got to be kidding!" the werewolf stated after dodging a tail attack from his opponent.

Suddenly the shutter opened with a loud beep. The group quickly retreated back to find more nitrogen. Every time Leon would knock one over when the enemy was close enough so they could be damaged again. The whole battle took them throughout the aqueduct. But finally after the fourth time of freezing the monsters, they both took enough damage to die. Blood came out colored green and they feel to the ground. They then heard the sound of a buzzer. Going to it, they found the elevator had arrived. The small group made it to this and were soon headed down. But elsewhere on an island the main cult leader was discussing something with somebody in the shadows. "It seems that Lalazar is having difficulty taming the American and nether world pigs," said Ladder. "Lalazar had his chance! Now go get the girl! Oh… and dispose of these swines while you're at it."

"Consider it done," when a gruff male voice.


	26. Chapter 26

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 26: Against the Lord of the Manor

Meanwhile the small group in the elevator made it down. They all stepped out and found themselves in some kind of underground cavern. The weapon's merchant was found here so Leon did a little selling and buying to be on the safe side. After that it was through a metal door. The small group found themselves in a small tunnel, but one that had the looks of a mine. "I think this is what has been mentioned before in the things we found," Nicholas said.

"So the Las Lagas are here huh?" Napoleon commented. "Guess we should destroy as much of this as we can."

"Stay alert though, who knows what we'll find here," the male werewolf stated.

They went forward and found the first of the enemies. This time it was villagers. The two found were disposed of quickly. Then after a bit more walking the group came to a large area, which had more enemies. Since the human, canines, and those from the nether were on a ledge they were able to shoot at all the enemies here and quickly clear them out. Then a jump down got them to where they had been. There was a huge boulder blocking the path by a cliff edge. Leon found a lever, which brought a mine cart to them. It began to move down but then got stuck. "Just our luck," Napoleon grumbled as more enemies began to appear.

"There's got to be a lever nearby, let's find it," Nicholas said.

The group defeated the villagers who stood in their way as they made their way up a side path to find the circuit breaker for the lift. All items found and left behind by the enemy were picked up. The guys and canines then found the breaker and Leon pulled the lever. Everyone began to make their wake back to the mine cart but then an enemy with a chainsaw appeared. This person was shown no mercy and quickly killed; even the other villagers that showed up with him. When all the hostiles were killed, Leon pulled the lever for the lift, which brought the mine cart down. It had some dynamite in it. "Time to light that boulder up," said Nicholas, taking it. The male werewolf placed it on the boulder and everyone stood back. The large obstacle was blown up, allowing the group to move on.

They went through another double door and found themselves in a room that was dark and steamy. The main source of light was lava below them. Luckily they were on a grate to keep them from falling in. There was a cover however. "What is this place?" Napoleon asked.

Nicholas saw there was a place that could be climbed up to that had a handle. The line that it was attached to went to some kind of lever. Looking at it, the male werewolf realized it would operate the cover. "This might be some kind of melting room," he said. "Probably to melt unwanted stuff."

The small group went to the door that would lead out. It then slid up revealing another El Rigante that was different from the first one encountered. This one had a couple more chains on it. The monster stomped out as the males and canines backed up. Another emerged from behind the other, having a face mask. "Two El Rigantes?!" Napoleon exclaimed.

Kratos and Venus barked and he ran up to the one in the mask to distract this enemy while she went by his side. Leon threw a flash grenade at the feet of the one with more chains. It worked and this monster was blinded. The human quickly ran over to the lever and pulled it since the enemy with chains was right on top of the cover. The cover opened up and the giant fell into the lava. "One down, now for the other," Nicholas said, firing at the one with the face mask. He figured that the second wouldn't be so bad. With Kratos and Venus distracting it, the three males could fire at it.

They all did so and the enemy went to the knees with the Lagas limb coming from the back. Leon and the male werewolf climbed up and slashed at it with their knife and katana. This fight didn't last much longer and the second giant was killed. The body melted away leaving behind money. Leon took it and the door from before slid back open since it had closed during the fight. They went pass it and through another set of doors into a dark cavern and heard the sound of buzzing Lovistadors. "More of those mutated insects huh?" Napoleon stated. "They won't get any of us."

The small group made it to the end of the tunnel and saw one of the said enemy but also some kind of strange plaque that had a small ornament on it. Leon went up to it to read it. "Two lights shall shine light on a new path," the human said.

"Well… guess we need to keep an eye out for them," Nicholas commented with a shrug.

The group went forward, shooting down any of the flying enemies that came at them. They were walking up around a cliff face. They then took a side path that led to a switch. Pressing caused a statue at the top with a light to turn on. The group then made it to the top and saw a door with the cult's symbol on it that had the same words as the plaque. There was another path leading off to another area. Following it led to the second switch. Pressing it caused another statue with its light turned on. These lights shown on a mirror, magnifying their power. The light actually began to melt the door with the symbol away. The group went to where it had been and saw a gate with a switch. It was pressed and the gate went away. The males and canines found themselves in a tunnel that had slamming pillars along it. These were timed so it wasn't too hard to get pass.

Along the way there was a lever that was pulled. It was better to be safe. Then a little bit latter they found some kind of platform that had a royal insignia on it. This was taken to be sold. There was also some kind of stone square with writing on it like a coffin. Checking it out caused the platform to rise up to the surface. In a bit they were on the surface by some kind of rock wall. They walked out from it and found a wooden shack there. The weapon's merchant was there so Leon did the usual business with him. There were also a couple of barrels that were broken to get at the items inside. "Let's move on then," Nicholas said when the business was finished.

"Wait!" Leon stated and noticed a note pinned onto the side of the shack.

"Another memo?" Napoleon asked.

The male human took it. "No, it's from Ada," he replied. "Has her name on it." They all took a look at it. It said that once a Lagas egg hatched, it was nearly impossible to remove it from the body that had been infected. But medication could neutralize it before it hatched. If it did hatch it was possible to get it out before it became an adult. But it wouldn't be easy and there was a chance Leon wouldn't survive the operation. As far as Ada knew, Ashley was injected with an egg before him. Her time was ticking and the group should prepare themselves for the worst-case scenario.

"That's not going to happen," Nicholas stated. "I'll make sure of it."

The letter was taken like all the documents before it. Everyone then went forward and stopped when they saw what lay ahead. There were broken arches and a cathedral of some kind. In the distance, they saw a huge tower. "So these are our targets," Napoleon said. "Time to clear them out."

The males and canines went forward but Nicholas was the one who stopped them after sniffing the air by the ruined structures. "What is it?" the vampire asked.

"Enemy villagers," the longhaired werewolf replied. "I can smell their reek."

Leon noticed some movement and went forward slowly. There was one by some pillars who came running over. The enemy was quickly killed. A second emerged and was taken out. Then came more pillars with a ladder leading up to a ruined arch. The male human climbed up it and saw more villagers surrounding a large fire. He tossed a grenade in the middle of them. The blast killed most of the enemy. The rest who hadn't were quickly taken care of by Nicholas and Napoleon. The group then noticed an elaborate door with lion's head. But there was an indentation, which meant an item was needed to open it.

It took a bit of searching, but in a bit, a wench was found. Leon operated it, making a stone covering move out of the way. There was a ladder revealed that led down. "It's gotta be down there," Nicholas said and climbed down. Kratos and Venus were then handed down to him before the other two males joined him. Right away then noticed a stone tablet that was quite big. Leon went up to it and read the words. "Up ahead rests the offering to the lion."

"I bet it's the item we need," Napoleon commented.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Nicholas asked and led the way.

They went down a tunnel lit by candles. They noticed this rock was different from the mines as it had more of a tan color to it. Soon they emerged into a large area which had some ruined walls that were so worn down they were quite short. There was also a ladder leading up to a natural rock formation with large holes in it. There were bear traps were the ruined walls were. Looking closer showed pillars and other ruin like areas. "Wonder what this use to be…" Nicholas commented then shrugged, not looking for an answer.

"I see some enemies here," Napoleon said. Leon took out his sniper riffle to pick off the ones in the distance, while the other two males took care of the ones that begin to charge in.

These were soon taken care of. Now it was to the level were the bear traps were. Before the group went forward, they took a side path down to a lower level. There were a couple skulls and a rectangle made of stone that was meant for holding a body. "Now I see… this is a tomb," Nicholas said. He went to the lid and slid it back. There was only a skull with remainder of ribs inside along with a staff. It was a royal one that the male werewolf took with him.

Going back up more bone remands were seen which proved his point for this area. The guys were careful to set off the traps so the dogs wouldn't get caught in them. The small group then reached the ladder and Leon climbed up it. The second he did, an emery with a chainsaw charged at him, having been waiting for him. Other villagers began to appear and tried to climb the ladder. Napoleon and Nicholas shot at these while the human had to defend himself. Some of these enemies had Las Lagas limbs emerge but they weren't too much trouble. Once they were taken care of, Leon grabbed a key from a stone table behind him. More villagers began to show up and all were killed. Leon then went down some stairs and found another enemy with a chainsaw that he was able to kill.

It was then through a door where he caught up with the others. Then came a sturdy door, which the key was used to get pass. Another tunnel with candles was here to greet them. Then it was through another door. Upon stepping into this room, the ceiling began to lower which had spikes. There were four red dots that were shot at which caused the thing to stop. Then it was down some stairs into an empty area and pass another door. The small group emerged into a bigger space. The only thing here was a train of three mine carts on tracks. "No other choice but to head in them," Napoleon stated and got in one.

Once the dogs and them were in, Leon fired at a switch nearby which released the carts. They began to move down the track. They went into a tunnel and saw enemies right away that were in a perfect spot to jump into the carts. These villagers were fired at and they fell hard onto the ground. The carts kept going down the track and through the darkened tunnels. At a few points there were beams they had to duck in order to avoid getting hit. Then at a certain section the enemy stopped the carts, but the group was able to kill these and move on. Then the train began to pick up speed. "Hold on!" Nicholas stated.

The carts went faster and faster down the track. Even the enemies that came were still able to be shot down. Then a stretch came with nothing. Leon then noticed something up ahead. "Wait…" he said and then saw it. The track abruptly ended. "Shit! Jump!"

Nicholas and Napoleon saw it to. They both grabbed Kratos and Venus while the male werewolf transformed. They threw the dogs to the other side and the canines made it. Then they and Leon jumped just as the carts fell off the track into the abyss below. The two from the nether made it but the human barely grabbed the end. The other males quickly got him up. "Shit that was close," Nicholas stated as he turned back to normal.

It was then through a door into a small room with a stone table in the middle. On top of this was some kind of round object. Leon took it and found it was the Stone of Sacrifice that had a engraving of an animal for sacrifice. Once it was taken, a hidden door opened. The group walked through it to find a ladder leading to the surface. They and the dogs were soon up it. It was then to the door with the lion's head. Leon placed the item in the indentation and the door moved to reveal and elevator. Now it was a ride up to the inside of the cathedral. What greeted them was a stone hallway. "I smell enemies up ahead again," Nicholas stated. The two dogs let out soft growls.

"Time to kill some more," Napoleon commented.

The group walked out of the hallway to the back section of the cathedral near the big stained glass window area. "There's nothing here," Leon said.

"Make no mistake, they are," the werewolf stated.

They then walked out to the main walkway. "My god…" Napoleon said as they all looked to see a huge statue of Lalazar that had gears at certain points, which meant this could move. "I knew he had an ego but this is ludicrous."

Leon took a step towards the door at the end of the walkway. Suddenly a cult member with robes came out and pulled a lever, causing sections of it to sink so the path couldn't be used. More enemies appeared and the arms of the statue moved up with the palms up to. The left arm began to move which acted like a makeshift lift to get to the higher levels were the enemy was. The males went on the offensive, killing any cult members that stood in their way. The group even used the hands to get up to a higher level where a switch was found. This caused one section of the path to rise back up. It was here that Leon noticed there was a lock on the door at the far end. He shot it off with his sniper riffle.

Then it was to the center of the statue by jumping to a platform using the left arm. Leon switched the power so the right arm began to move. The only enemy left was the one that had made the path disappear. Leon killed him quickly and pulled the lever to make the second section rise up. Now the door at the far end could be reached. "Okay, now just the tower," Nicholas said. "Hang on Liru; I'm coming."

They had only taken one step towards to the door when a crash made everyone look back. They saw the statue of the enemy was beginning to move towards them, trying to crush them. "RUN FOR IT!" Napoleon shouted.

Kratos and Venus were faster then the males, but they ran like hell. Even some of the pillars in the room came down thanks to the statue. Everyone was able to roll out of the way before these crushed them. The group quickly reached the door and saw the tower that had been seen before was just ahead. A single stone bridge led to the entrance. They didn't have long to view it as the statue came crashing through the entrance behind them. The dogs were the first across the bridge with the rest behind them. The other males only got a little more than halfway across. This was due to the statue trying to follow them broke the bridge due to the immense wait. They jumped to the edge of what was left of the bridge and after a brief struggle, managed to pull themselves up. It was hard since only one hand had been able to grab it.

"Time to end this," Nicholas growled as he and the other two got a weapon ready before heading in.

The group noticed right away the long spiraling path that led up to the top and how the design was like that of the castle. Kratos and Venus then growled. The three males instantly saw what made the canines do it. It was Lalazar clapping with his remaining guard by his side just ahead. "So nice you could join us Mr. Leon Rennedy and the remaining males from the nether," the enemy said, stopping the clapping.

"You again," Nicholas growled.

"The sacred rite that's about to begin at this tower shall endow the girl with magnificent power. She will join us! Become one of us! Then the rest of the nether beings will be dealt with."

"This is no ritual; it's terrorism!" Leon shot back.

"Isn't that a popular word these days?" Lalazar replied. "Not to worry Mr. Rennedy. We've prepared a special ritual for you. And the others with you will be dealt with then."

The enemy human raised his left hand up and the other male threw his combat knife, impaling Lalazar's hand against the wall behind him. The short human turned his head and the pain hit, causing him to whimper from it. Leon smirked. The guard with the enemy grabbed the knife and in one motion pulled it out and threw it at the taller male human. Napoleon moved and kicked it away. Lalazar, still whimpering with pain and clutching the hand stumbled a few steps along with his guard to a section that had a gate like elevator door close. "STOP!" the male vampire shouted.

The elevator began to move up, taking the enemy with it. That meant the group was going to have to take the long way. Leon quickly retrieved his knife. The small items on the lowest level were quickly grabbed before the males and canines began the long way up. They had only gone just a bit when they heard the sound of a large barrel heading down their way. Looking up and ahead they saw cult members had begun to emerge and that one had pulled a lever to allow this to come down. Leon snipped the one by the lever so no more barrels would come rolling down. When the group got to the lever, more enemies from the lower level appeared. They began to run up the stairs. Nicholas and Napoleon operated the lever, which allowed more barrels to come down. The male human used his snipe riffle to take care of the enemies higher up.

The stairs only went so far. That meant taking a small lift up the rest of the way. Enemies jumped down from above which would stop the lift at certain points. These were all killed. Eventually the lift stopped at the very top. From there it was a walk on the scaffolding surrounding the outside of the tower. Another lift was found and taken up, followed by stairs that led to a door. The group with a nod, went in with a run. It was just a short ways towards the center. They saw Lalazar with his reaming guard at some kind of altar. They were looking up at some kind of growth on the wall up ahead. It appeared to be some kind of very deep dark purple flower but it was pulsing, showing it wasn't just any flower. There were two large tubes of some kind on either side that were moving. Looking inside showed some kind of eggs being moved. The entire area was dripping with some kind of mucus.

Lalazar suddenly turned and spotted the group. "Ah!" he stated. "You just missed them. The ritual is over. They left with my men to an island."

"What?!" Leon exclaimed.

The short human walked up the steps to the altar and stood on it. "I think it's time I paid my due respects to all your impressive and stubborn wills!" He turned around to face the group and tentacles of some kind emerged from the opening on the flower. They wrapped around his body. "Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether… welcome!"

The tentacles lifted him up towards the flower. More came out to wrap around his remaining guard. Both beings were taken to the flower as Lalazar let out mad laugh. The petals of the flower closed around them, taking the two inside. The males all took a step back and the canines let out growls. The petals then opened, revealing the enemy was gone for a second. Suddenly a long limb shot out of the center of the flower and crashed down where the altar was, destroying it. They saw that it had two small arms, ones that had belong to the guard, and the color was a mass of sickly and flesh colors. A single bulging eye with a yellow pupil was seen at the front of the limb. Where the mouth should have been there was only small insect like legs that moved. The limb still let out a roar at the group as an iron gate slammed shut behind them. Two more limbs similar in appearance to the middle one without the eye burst through the wall and began to move. Finally then on the middle limb the group saw a growth that looked like petals with teeth open up. Lalazar's upper body emerged. Only his head and right arm was any sign he had once been human. The rest had flesh like tubes and growths, fusing him to the limb. He let out a roar, his voice distorted and the eyes had changed to red. "Monsters," Leon said. "Guess after this one they'll be one less one to worry about."

"I want you to suffer just like the others," the enemy said before the petal teeth closed around him, showing this was a shield that protected Lalazar. The group fired at the limb with the eye. Every hit on that part brought out yellow greenish colored blood. After some hits, the petals surrounding the main target moved. The guys all fired at him. Lalazar let out groans for every shot that got him. But soon the petals closed up on him. He let out a laugh. "That tickles!" he taunted the group.

The limbs on the left and right came up to slam down on the group. They were able to dodge these and the main one. It was a simple task of moving out of the way and firing at the eye. It wasn't much longer until the enemy bit the dust. The main limb let out roar and reared up as part of it began to melt away. Lalazar also let out moans and thrashed about. Then the limbs fell to the ground with a crash. The whole thing melted away just like the enemies that were killed. "Pathetic," Nicholas stated. "In the end, he was weak just like how he couldn't do shit." The group then noticed a door where the flower had been. It was time to move out and somehow get to the island the enemy had mentioned.


	27. Chapter 27

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 27: It

The small group made it to the door which led outside. It was then a short walk and around a corner until the group found a long rope leading down. Leon went first. Napoleon had to do two trips with the dogs due to his ability to walk up and down walls. Nicholas was quick to follow. The way down led to a lift which was taken. The group emerged into a darkened corridor that had water dripping. The weapon's merchant was found here. Leon did the usual selling but the male werewolf wouldn't let the human sell the staff that had been found. Nicholas told Leon like with some of the other treasures that were kept, he wanted this one.

Then it was through a door with a small path that led to some kind of small harbor for a couple of boats. One motor boat was already there and Ada was inside, apparently waiting for the group. The males had their guns quickly out just in case. "Need a ride, handsome?" she asked Leon.

The male human let out a breath. "Okay…" he replied uncertainly.

Soon everyone was in the boat and on their way to the island mentioned. As they got closer they could see the smoke coming from stacks that showed the island had a bit on industry on it. Leon was lost in thought and then looked to Ada, wondering what she was plaining. She noticed and did a sharp turn which caused the male human and the others to loosed their balance as the boat pulled up next to a cliff wall. The female human brought out a grappling gun and fired it while stepping on the steering wheel. "Got some business to take care of," she said. "See you later."

Ada pulled herself up and without that weight, the boat's steering wheel suddenly moved, causing the vehicle to go out of control. The guys grunted and Nicholas managed to get the boat back under control. Leon let out a breath. "Women," he stated.

Napoleon then spotted a landing point that was natural and everyone got out. Before they could go anywhere, the radio the male human had went off. He answered it. This time it was Ladder who was making the call. "We hate to break it to you, but Lalazar's dead," Leon said.

"Yes, it seems that way," the enemy replied, uncaring.

"Ladder why don't you give up and let Ashley go home and give the rest of our friends to us?" Nicholas growled.

"Perhaps you are disillusioned with overconfidence just because you three killed my small-time subordinate?"

"Ladder you're small-time!" Napoleon snapped back.

The enemy human let out a laugh. "Writhe in my cage of torment my friends." The call was then ended.

The small group began their walk along the small rocky path. There was the water to their right, and a cliff wall to their left. It was a couple of climbs up and down and even a hop across before they even saw the entrance to the industry area of the island. But now they saw it was more like a military fortress instead. There were even search lights. "A fortified area," Nicholas said. "Perfect."

"At least we can-" Napoleon began but Leon noticed something.

"I see them," the human stated, pointing out Ashely being carried over the shoulder of what appeared to be a mercenary like enemy. The rest from the nether were following looking a little rough and in chains. They all went through a door that closed behind them with the cult's symbol on it.

Leon shot at the search lights and broke the bulb inside each, causing them to shut off. It was then a small jump across a ledge to actually reach the entrance. The male human led the way to the side. He then stopped and the others saw it, an enemy. The person came around and was quickly and quietly killed. A ladder was then found and everyone after helping the dogs up, climbed up. They found a strange kind of reflecting mirror with the cult's symbol being the main shape. They hadn't even made it to the edge when they were spotted. And the one enemy in charge appeared to be a big man with an eyepatch that had the cult symbol on it. The single eye glowed red. There was a dark red cap on the head. The guy carried a huge machine gun with ammo on his shoulders. "Shit!" Nicholas said, seeing this.

"Time to make this big boy fall!" Napoleon stated.

The group let this new enemy come to them. It didn't take long for this person to do so and was quickly ambushed. While it took quite a bit of shooting to kill this enemy, it wasn't too hard to do so. They noticed that like another type of enemy, this one didn't melt away. Jumping down from the ledge, it was onto taking out the rest of the baddies and making their way to the door the rest had gone through. On the left was a button that shot a laser that hit another of the strange reflecting mirrors. They made their way to it and rotated it so the beam went to the other one seen before. That one was rotated to the other side of the door and the thing opened. It was then through some cave like structures before a ladder was found and everyone went up after helping Kratos and Venus up it.

This led them to a section higher and they could see the area they had just come from. It was then into a structure on the side which had more enemies. One of them had a Lagas limb emerge but this was only at the first state. There wasn't much here besides that and a few items. Once all these things had been gathered, it was then outside. Another search light was here since the beam could be seen. A bit of help from Nicholas and Napoleon with a concealing rune for invisibility was used so they could go on ahead and clear out the area. Another door was found that was easier to open. Behind it was a tunnel dug into the rock bed. Some of the enemy followed the group in and there were more just ahead. All of them were killed off. Once that was done, it was then through another door. This led to what appeared to be more of a building rather then a cliff wall. "I think we can take a breather here for enemies," Nicholas said.

The sound of water could be heard dripping in this place. "It's a bit dim in here," Napoleon commented. "It's good for undercover."

The small group went down the hallway pass a few doors into a bigger one with shelves and discarded items. A single enemy was here and quickly killed. The sound of flies could also be heard which meant something was rotting. "Let's get out of this shit hole quickly," Nicholas groaned, covering his sensitive nose.

They made their way forward and then out another door. Instantly they heard a familiar female voice. "LEON!"

"It's Ashley!" Napoleon stated. "The others must be with her!"

They started to go forward but Leon stopped them so he could snipe an enemy ahead. There was another down below that could be shot out through some spaces. The male human then spotted a third and shot them in the head. What came out was a third state Lagas limb. The guy was able to kill the body, but the limb detached itself and came crawling towards the group. A simple shot took care of it. It was then downstairs quickly to get some of the items and two more enemies that had Lagas limbs emerged. these were quickly killed. And all this time Ashley didn't stop screaming. "Jesus; would she shut the fuck up?!" Nicholas growled. "We're coming!"

They followed the screaming to a room that had monitors and saw the noise was coming from there. The female human was banging on the door to the cell. The males noticed the rest from the nether were in there to, but in chains. They then noticed an enemy approaching from behind Ashely. He threw her away from the door. The guy then looked up and the group saw him looking up where the camera was. He gave orders to another person in the cell. In the room all the monitors went blank. Leon let out a scoff. "Amateurs," he said. "Just hang in there Ashley. We're coming for ya."

It was then to a door on the left that led out of the monitoring room. A hallway with poor lighting greeted the group. Taking a side path found the weapon's merchant. Leon did some selling and buying before the males and canines moved on. It was then back out to the hallway where at a corner they saw what appeared to be a garage door. It suddenly slid open, revealing enemies with lit explosives. These were fired at, causing some explosions and killing them off. Three more then appeared and those were killed. The money they left behind was collected. Then it was through another door that led to a similar looking hallway. It was then up some stairs and through doors that looked like ones from a hospital. Here the group went through a sliding door that was automatic. They could see the equipment in here. "Some kind of research equipment," Nicholas said after looking at it. "Wonder what it's used for?"

Napoleon then looked to the right and saw a large viewing window. Behind that was an operating room. The male vampire then did a double take as he saw a body on the table. It wasn't human, but grey colored with clawed hands. There was no hair on it and impossible to determine the sex. The head was turned away. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked.

Leon then found a security system for the door ahead. "Shouldn't take long," he said and got to work on it. Nine panels with different colored arrows came up on the panel. It was quick work to get the door up ahead unlocked. The group went inside what appeared to be another operating room.

"How many of these are here?" Nicholas asked.

"Wait, I see something," Napoleon stated and went over to a table on the side. It had a memo on it.

"What is it?" the male werewolf asked.

"Another one from Luis."

It started by saying the monsters fought so far were merely by-products of the diabolical and inhuman experiments conducted on the specimens that were once human. But there was one type of creature that clearly distinguished itself from the rest called Revivers. They had a superior metabolism that allowed them to regenerate lost body parts at incredible speeds. Luis had never seen anything like it. The characteristics of it made them almost invincible to conventional weapons. But there were ways to kill it as the Lagas inside of it were living in the body like leeches. While these couldn't be seen with the naked eye, thermal imaging could see them. The leech-like Lagas had to be located and destroyed to stop the regeneration process. It ended by saying that as far as Luis knew, these creatures had a number of these leech-like Lagas. With the memo were a couple of photos of the Revivers. "Wait… I think that was one I saw back there in that room," Napoleon stated with a jerk of his head. "It looks very much like the ones in the pics here."

"I don't suppose you guys have the ability to see thermal images or have things that can make us see them?" Leon asked.

"Naw, we're not the kind of monsters that are snake like," Nicholas answered. "We don't have ruins as well. Let's hope there is something here though that can help us." This guy took this memo with him.

The three then turned to the operating table behind them and froze when they saw what appeared to be a Lagas parasite on top of some human with the second body facing away. The area where the spine was cut open. "What the…?" Napoleon asked. "What kinds of experiments are going on around here?"

Leon then found another body in a corner. There was a card key right by the feet. It had a red section that looking sowed it was meant for a freezer somewhere in this facility. There was nothing else in here so everyone went back to the door that led in here. Suddenly a crash of glass was heard and Kratos and Venus let out growls. From the other side kind of strange noises were heard. "Uh oh," Napoleon stated. "I think that might be the Reviver I saw back there."

The door was opened and the males saw it walking towards them with a strange walk. "Shit!" Nicholas snarled and everyone fired. One of the legs was blown off while wounds appeared in the stomach area. They noticed small tentacles appear on the wounds, trying to knit them back together and regrow the missing limb. Then instead of wasting ammunition, the male werewolf and Leon hacked at the enemy with their katana and knife. Even though the wounds kept regenerating, it wasn't as fast as the two stabbing weapons. Then at last the creature let out a grown and the upper body exploded. The reaming lower half melted away.

"Damn, Luis wasn't kidding," Napoleon said. "We'd better find some kind of scope to help us see those Lagas leeches."

Going back the way they came another Reviver was found. The same method from before was used to kill it. Then after going a bit forward, Leon spotted a locked freezer like area. He used the card to allow the group in. The first thing they noticed was that it was very cold. They could also see two stretchers, ones of which had a body on it. There was a blood pack attached to it. There were also Reviver bodies hanging from hooks on the ceiling. The first stop in here was to the right in a side room. There was a card key rewriter. Leon inserted the one they had picked up and rewrote the data on it to make it the Waste Disposal Card Key. Napoleon then found some kind of cryogenic device. The vampire turned it off which made it less cold and unfroze something in a side room up ahead. Nicholas in the meantime checked the body on the stretcher. "These bodies must have been cryogenized with the parasites still in their bodies," he said. "Sucks to be them."

Leon then went to the second side room and found a door that was made of glass that protected a couple of shelves. He got it open to find a case with a scope inside of it. The human picked it up and saw it was a thermal kind that was perfect for his sniper riffle. "Found one," he called to the others.

As soon as he picked it up, they heard the door lock. "Shit!" Nicholas cursed.

They also saw one of the bodies of the hanging Revivers detach from the ceiling. Leon went out quickly and using the new tool her had gotten was able to see the Lagas on the monster and kill it fast. Once it was, the door became unlocked. Outside was another one that was quickly killed. Then it was to a door that the card key had to be used to get to the Waste Disposal area. A bit of walking latter, the group found themselves in the control room. They could see dumpsites and enemies through a window here. The three males and canines went out to the area to kill them. Leon looked over the edge and saw the waste down below. "Maybe this leads to the lower levels," he said.

It was then through another door that led to some kind of office with tables and TV monitors. There was a security switch for the door on the left at the end of the room, but nothing that could help at this moment. It was then through the next door. On the other side in the hallway that had parts of the wall missing, a pounding sound could be heard. "That noise…" Napoleon said.

Nicholas sniffed the air. "It's them!" he stated. "Let's go!"

Everyone ran forward and found two armored enemies standing guard. The male werewolf and vampire ran forward and slaughtered them. They and Leon ran to the door and saw Ashley and those from the nether with the latter being held in bindings so they couldn't use their power. But they could move a bit. "Liru!" Nicholas stated.

He saw her banged up a little but her eyes lit up with love and the female went right the entrance door. There were bars in the window like area so the two could touch and kiss even if they couldn't fully do it. Napoleon was like that for Pachira. "Thank god… thank god you're okay," the male werewolf whispered to his girl.

"I knew you would come for me," she said softly. Liru noticed Kratos and Venus and with Nicholas's help, the dogs were able to lick her face.

"Liru… did they hurt you or… er… expose you in any way for fun?"

"NO!" Liru replied, red in the face of the thought of having sex.

"Sorry love," her boyfriend replied. "My mind went to the worst-case scenario."

"It wasn't like that for any of us," Cosmo said. "Not even Ashley."

"Let's get them out of there," Leon said. He tried the door. "Damn it's locked. We need a card key."

"We'd better go get it," Nicholas growled. "It's a pain but it's better than trying to break down the door. It might set off an alarm. We'll find it and be back quickly. I promise."

After he and Napoleon gave their girls a goodbye kiss with telling they loved them, it was through a different door close by. There was nothing in the hallway but there were enemies in the next room. They were quickly killed. There wasn't time to look around this section, even if there were what appeared to be x-rays of some kind hanging on one of the walls. It was then down some stairs and through another hallway. Then taking a left led to some kind of room that had medical equipment and security screens. Leon looked up at one and saw it was showing a door. Suddenly it opened and a Reviver walked out. The male human noticed it was carrying a card key on it. "That has to be it," he commented.

He noticed it coming on the right and shot at it with his snipper riffle. Every time one of the Lagas leeches were killed spikes would emerge on the monster. It didn't take much to kill this thing off and get the card key that was needed to free the others. It was still worth checking this area out. There was a lab section that had large glass tubes. Breaking these allowed to see what was inside them. "This looks like living tissue," Napoleon said. "But from what…?"

Everything of value was taken. There were more glass tube that had more samples, but these were large and more grotesque. Then it was through another door that led to the outside. It was a short path to an elevator. But before the group went on it, Leon did the usual buying and selling with the weapons merchant. Then one ride up latter, the group found themselves up at the top of a radio tower. They went in and Leon went up to it and turned it on. "This is Leon; requesting back up," he said into the mike. "Repeat, request back up." There was nothing but static on the other end of the line. "Damn!"

"It was worth a shot," Nicholas commented. The group then went back to the way they came. There were a few enemies but these couldn't stop the group. Then at last they reached where the rest were being held and got the door open. Going inside found the rest waiting at the back. "Leon!" Ashley exclaimed.

"You okay?" he asked and she nodded.

Nicholas quickly had the others out of their bindings. "Damn that feels better," Logan said.

Liru and Nicholas met in a hug and the same applied for Napoleon and Pachira. "Come on; let's get out of here," the male human stated.

It turned out their weapons were in a storage area next door. The group grabbed them and the rest felt strong again. But before they could leave, Leon noticed something fly in the window of the room where the rest of the group had been held. It landed and went over to it. "What is it?" Nicholas asked, noticing this.

"Some kind of paper airplane," he replied and unfolded it. "It's from Ada."

"How can you tell?" Liru asked.

"Who else would leave this mark on it?" The others noticed the lipstick kiss on it. Reading it said that the way out by using the waste disposal dump that the smaller group had passed by before.

It was then out of the door and killing the enemies that appeared again. They went much quicker now that more were in the group that could fight. This time when going back to the room that had the button, it was used to stall the group. But this didn't slow them down at all. Soon they had reached the place they needed to go at the waste disposal. "Looks like this is it," Leon said.

"Ugh, it stinks," Ashley commented.

"Sure does," Nicholas agreed and grabbed Kratos. Napoleon did the same thing with Venus. The females all looked at the males and saw them looking down the chute where waste went.

"No way Nicholas," Liru growled.

"Way," he replied and the males all grabbed one of the females hands and jumped taking them with them. They all landed at the bottom just fine. The dogs came out of the arms holding them and shook themselves over and let out a happy bark.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Uma asked.

"We knew you'd be fine if you landed on your ass," Napoleon replied. Pachira glared at him since he managed to stand up.

"What is this?" Aiko asked, pulling her arm off of something. The male werewolf, vampire, and Leon looked and saw it was another Reviver body.

"Let's go," the male human said quickly and everyone got up.

The way ahead was blocked by a gate and the lever to operate it was nearby. The second Leon pulled it, the Reviver right behind them rose up with a moan and the spikes on the body extended out. "What is that thing?!" Ashely asked.

Leon found another switch which closed the gate again. Now the enemy couldn't get threw and allowed him to take care of it. After it blew up Nichols quickly told the rest what it was. Then up ahead came a container that had to be pushed over in order to cross a section and another Reviver that was swiftly killed. After pushing another container out of the way, the group was able to leave the area through another door. The second they did, an enemy spotted them and let out a warning cry. "Time to kill again," Cosmo stated.

"Now it's payback time," Logan agreed.

The ones up ahead were killed and even the ones with Lagas limbs emerging didn't stand a chance. Then it was up some stairs to a room that had a lava pit and wrecking ball. Kratos and Venus needed some help down and two of the group caught the dogs who jumped down. Enemies then emerged and were killed off. Leon then went to the other side of the room that had the controls to move the wrecking ball. He did so a few times until the ball broke through one of the walls to create a new path. There was a door behind it which was they group went through. Right away they heard the sound of a Reviver. Leon took care of it quickly. Another was heard down the hallway and killed to. However the main path was blocked by a sliding door. So the group had to go around and find a button to get it part way up. There was just enough room for the females and dogs to get underneath.

They were able to pull a lever on the other side to get the door fully up and allow the rest to follow. Then came a double blue door with a lever on each side. Leon and Ashley pulled one at the same time. Going through found the group in some kind of garage storage area. There was a huge truck with a claw on the front that had an open bed. "Now what do we have here?" Cosmo asked.

"Guess it's our only way to keep going," Aiko said, pointing at the truck.

"Leave it to me!" Ashley said and got in the driver's seat. The rest got on the bed.

The female human broke down the wall ahead and the vehicle began to move. The rest on the bed then saw enemies beginning to close in. They shot and killed all who came close or managed to board. Then a bit latter a truck that was on fire came down to crush the group. Cosmo took care of it by blowing it up with a well-aimed grenade from his right arm. Then at the end of the pathway, the vehicle reached a section that could be used to take it up higher. But to get it moving, a lever had to be pulled. Some of the guys including Leon climbed up a ladder to reach the level were the lever was. Once it was pulled, they quickly returned to the vehicle. The section then moved up to a door that moved out of the way, leading to the outside. Ashley continued to drive while the ones in the bed shot at the enemy that was waiting for them above or tried to come in from the rear.

Then the group heard the sound of another truck heading their way. Cosmo was quick and fired another grenade. Even so Ashley had to swerve to the left which caused the group's vehicle to crash into a wall. Everyone waited for the dust to clear before hopping off. "Well that was a letdown," Logan said. "I was enjoying that joyride."

"I see a door right there," Uma commented pointing it out.

Going through found a room to catch their breath and the weapon's merchant. Leon did a little selling and buying with him. Then it was through another double door. The group rushed in a stopped when they saw who was up ahead. Kratos and Venus let out growls, barring their teeth at the person. Up some flight of steps was Ladder. "I can feel them growing ever so strongly inside of you," the enemy said and turned to face the group.

"LADDER!" Leon shouted and ran forward to attack. The cult leader stretched out his left hand at the male human. Leon stopped and felt pain in his chest as the Lagas in him stopped his movements. Those from the nether moved but were stopped by chains that suddenly appeared from the floor, trapping them. The male human groaned in pain. They noticed the staff the enemy had had two wavy tentacles that had appeared from holes while the head of the weapon was pulsing.

"Perhaps you can resist. But you cannot disobey. Even those of you from the nether can be contained even if the parasites cannot infect you." Ladder's hand then moved towards the female human in the group. "Now come to me, Ashley."

She let out a gasp and her head went limp. The others saw nothing happen but then her head rose up and the eyes opened to reveal they had changed to red. Ashley walked towards Ladder. Leon tried to reach her but was still in pain. "Ashley!" he grunted and threw a tiny tracker on the back of her shirt. Kratos and Venus had by this point gone by Nicholas and Liru's side, not attacking. Those from the nether couldn't even break the chains as they were the same kind seen before.

The rest of the group watched as Ashley walked away with Ladder. Only when they had disappeared did the chains slink off those from the nether and the pain stopped for Leon. "It's already begun…" he stated.

"Nice move with that tracker," Nicholas said to the male human. "Even if our noses don't work, we can use that to. It never hurts."

The group walked up the steps and found a table with another memo and a few photos. One of them was of the dead village chief and another was of the Lagas parasite. "Another one," Liru commented. "Is it from Luis?"

"No it's from Ladder," Napoleon replied.

They all took a look at it. The memo began by saying because of the group Ladder had lost the chief of the village and Lalazar. Nevertheless, everything would proceed according to Ladder's plan. He did admit however, the loss of his loyal men was a bit disheartening, but he would deal with it. Replacing the loss wouldn't come easy. Ladder had to choose wisely, for the Lagas reflected the conscience of their hosts. If chosen poorly, they could betray him. He needed men who would swear their allegiance to him. The memo ended by saying he had learned that lesson before and would not make the same mistake again. In this important hour, Ladder wouldn't let anyone stand in his way.

"Come on, let's move," Leon said after Nicholas took this and led the way through the door the enemy had gone through. It led to a hallway with dim lighting that had a metal floor.

Nicholas suddenly let out a growl. "Something wrong?" Liru asked.

"Just a bad feeling," he replied. The male werewolf was right as elsewhere Ada was in a communication room. She wasn't alone though.

"What's the news on our friend Leon and those from the nether?" the same male voice that was rough who had spoken to Ladder asked.

"They're not making it easy," the female human replied. "The sample?"

"Ladder's got it. Seems he sniffed out our little game."

"Perfect." Ada began to walk away.

"Just so we understand each other clearly, I don't trust you. Nor does Desker," the male voice stated. "If you try to do anything cleaver, I will kill you."

"Is that so?" Ada replied. "You know, I met Desker long before you."

"We'll see soon enough if you did."

"Yeah, we'll see." The female human then walked out of the room.

Elsewhere the group had begun to move. Leon had already killed the first enemy and had even spotted them from a distance and sniped them off in the dim lighting. It was then down some stairs and through a door that was brighter. This was due to being in some kind of furnace and boiler room. There was steam here to. This area was cleared out before heading through another door that led to a different hallway with better lighting than the first one. It was then a short path that ended at a lift. Everyone got on it and rode it up. Arriving, they saw they were on top of a metal walkway with huge boilers surrounding them and pipes leaving off to other areas. Leon held up his hand. "Everything alright?" Nicholas asked him.

"Let me go ahead," the human said. "I feel something's watching us. If it is an enemy, you guys can ambush them when they attack."

"Sounds good."

Leon went ahead and down a small flight of stairs while the others hung back so they couldn't see him. The male human walked forward to the center of the room. The same feeling of being watched came back stronger. The guy slowly drew his combat knife. He quickly turned around with the weapon in his right hand. But there was nobody there. Suddenly a sound from above made Leon look up to see something descending down. He was able to roll out of the way and got up, feeling his right cheek cut. Leon whipped the blood away.

"Been a long time, comrade," the same voice that had spoken to Ada and Ladder said as the figure stood up. It was another male human but dressed similarly to Leon with a few more grenades and a knife. A red military hat was on his head. There was a scar stretching from the upper left eye down to the chin. But Leon knew who it was.

"Krew!" he stated with shock.

"I died in a plane crash some months ago, is that what they told you?" the second person asked as the two began circling.

"You're the one who kidnapped Ashley and told the enemy about my friends being from the nether!"

"You catch on quick. As expected." The knife Krew had was being twirled in his left hand. "After all you and I both know where we come from."

The enemy then struck from the side. Leon was able to move back and did a thrust with his weapon to make the second human back off. The two were on guard and watching the other closely. "What do you want?!" Leon asked, switching his blade to the left hand.

Krew didn't answer but instead swung his knife with the first male human leaning back. The enemy came in again and Leon was able to avoid the blow. The two went back to their original positions. "The sample Ladder developed, that's all," Krew answered.

The knife he had came in and Leon blocked it, sparks coming off both blades. "Leave Ashley out of this!" the first human said.

"Oh I needed her to buy Ladder's trust in me. Like you, I'm American!"

Krew changed the grip on his knife so it was pointing upwards and kicked a barrel towards his opponent. Leon knocked it out of the way and saw the enemy coming in. He leaned back and the blades collided. The motion of their bodies caused them to fall off the level they were on to the one below them. The first human did a backflip and landed on his feet while the second landed on his hands before flipping to his feet. The two turned their heads to look at the other. "You got her involved just for that?!" Leon asked.

The first human came in with his knife and Krew deflected the blow. The two went at it with a few moves. Leon then spun around, switching his weapon to the left hand and across the enemy's chest. Despite Krew's speed, he still got cut. He looked at it and grunted a little. Leon waited while breathing a little hard. The enemy let out a laugh and charged in with a strike. The first human caught the weapon wrist with his left hand after quickly switching his knife to the right hand. Leon put the enemy in a lock who quickly switched his knife to the left hand. The first human blocked this strike and the two were glaring at the other. Krew then spun around and managed to kick Leon in the back and send the first human to the ground. He managed to roll over, wincing from the pain.

"All for Rindella and Millennium Virus's sake," Krew said.

"Rindella and Millennium Virus?!" Leon asked in shock.

"Almost let it slip. Enough talk; die comrade!" The second human jumped up with the knife down. The first human caught the blow and tried to stop the blade from piercing him. Suddenly a shot was heard and the enemy's weapon was knocked to the side. Leon kicked Krew off of him and both looked up. They saw Ada with a gun and the rest of the group looking down from above.

"Ada!" the first human said.

"Well, if it isn't the bitch in the red dress," Krew stated, standing up.

"Looks like we have the upper hand here," the female human said, looking at Leon. The enemy let out a chuckle and then jumped up to a higher level. The group was left in shock at this.

"You may be able to prolong your life. But it's not like you can escape your inevitable death, is it?" the enemy said and then ran away from sight.

The rest went to where Leon was. "You… knew each other?" Ada asked.

"More or less," Leon replied, picking up Krew's discarded knife. "Maybe it's about time you told us the reason you're here?"

"Maybe some other time." The female human jumped over a ledge disappearing as well.

"I swear that woman is nothing but trouble," Cosmo said.

"Never mind that, was that really Krew?" Nicholas asked. "Why the hell was he fighting you?" The others were quickly told. "Well that settles it. It seems the enemy is trying to get their hands on the Lagas sample for their own purposes. And if I had to guess the remands of Rindella have joined up with Millennium Virus."

Suddenly the radio Leon had went off and he answered it. It was Ladder. "Enjoy the reunion with your old friend?" the enemy asked.

"As a matter of fact we did," Leon replied sarcastically.

"Wonderful. I wouldn't want my special guests on the island feeling unattended."

"Guess we're supposed to thank you, right?" Nicholas growled.

"Ah… I have an idea," Ladder said, struck by a thought. "Since you're here, why don't I introduce all of you to 'It'. It should keep you busy."

"Can't remember the name?" Liru replied with a smirk. "A senior moment perhaps?" Her boyfriend gave her a nod with a smile, surprised his girl could come up with such a comeback. Ladder was taken aback for a second before chuckling evilly with amusement.

"Enjoy the fun." The call was then ended.

The group then found a ladder that took them down to the lowest level. There was a door they then went through. They emerged in an area that was shiny and had better lighting. "Oooh, sweet!" Uma stated when a pair of doors opened up automatically.

"Don't be impressed," Logan said. They could see a long hallway with nothing.

"I don't like this," Cosmo commented.

"Why don't only some of us go on ahead," Leon suggested. He, Nicholas, Liru, Pachira, and Napoleon decided to do so. They had only gone forward a bit when four lasers colored light orange came out. The small group were instantly on guard. They saw the lasers moving and were able to get by them easily. A bit further more came out but were moving in a different pattern. This time they had to wait a bit longer in order to get pass. Then these disappeared and more came out but in a way that it was impossible to wait. These came forward quickly. The human and nether beings jumped through the gaps here and made it. More lasers then came out and tried to get them. The all jumped back twice to avoid the deadly beams. They then reached the door but found it locked.

"Now what?" Pachira asked.

"There's a switch," Liru said and pressed it. More lasers came from behind the group. These came at them and everyone used the door as a way to jump over them. With that the door became unlocked and the rest joined them. Going in found a room with a high backed comfortable chair with the cult symbol behind it. On the ceiling was a treasure that was shot off. It was an elegant headdress made of silver with an aqua colored gem on it. This was sent to the other treasures those from the nether had put away safely for themselves. Looking behind the chair was an elevator that took the group down to an underground system with lights.

There was only one path and the group walked forward until they saw a huge double door. But Leon noticed another way on the right. Looking showed the weapon's merchant was here. "May as well get something before heading the other way," Nicholas said.

Everyone thought it was a good idea and walked up to the guy. The male human did the usual selling and buying from him. There were also a couple of items in the surrounding area to be picked up. "That should take care of that," Liru commented.

"Wait, one more thing," Cosmo stated and pointed at what appeared to be another memo. Everyone took a look and saw it was a different one from Luis.

This one began by saying the dead human report his findings about the Lagas here. They had three distinct characteristics. First, they had the ability to manipulate the behavioral patterns of their host. Second, they were social organisms. That meant they lived in perfect social harmony. Luis stated it was believed they had a collective intelligence. It could be seen among such animals as bees and ants. But it was rare to see this among parasitic organisms. Perhaps it was learned by the Lagas. Luis stated he would look into this further. The third trait was that the Lagas had exceptional adaptation skills. They were able to live off of many organisms and create the perfect environment inside the host. This, combined with their social behaviors, allowed them to interact intelligently between hosts regardless of the infected organism. Luis then said that he was ashamed to admit his fascination with the Lagas had blinded him to the true research purposes of the cult. It ended by saying even with the knowledge that Ladder was going to abuse the results of this research, Luis couldn't walk away. As a result, he was just as much as a responsibility for this mess as the enemy was. Luis saw now he was wrong but trailed off in wondering if he could stop the cult's plans? 

"It's nice to know Luis was really innocent and tried to do what he could to stop them," Uma said.

"Now we must really make sure his death wasn't in vain," Logan commented.

It was then through the big double door. They emerged out in a more open cave system that even had a cliff ledge that showed what appeared to be a black bottomless pit. Walking a bit further found them at a much larger area. There were even platforms of some kind with grate like walls and containers on them being held over the pit. "What the hell is this?" Napoleon asked.

"It's best to move on," Aiko suggested with a worried look. The rest nodded and continued to move. Leon then heard a beep and noticed something flashing red in a pool of water. Going up to it, the human saw it was the tracking device he had thrown on Ashley.

"Ashley…" he said. Suddenly the group felt the ground shake.

"What was that?!" Logan asked.

Everyone felt it again but stronger. They all looked around and the ground shook once more. They then realized it was coming from bellow. Everyone dived out of the way as something erupted from the earth. Leon was thrown over towards the platforms and landed on them. The thing followed the human. The group then saw what it was. It walked on four legs and the skin was a mix of flesh and dull pink. The left arm was a tentacle and the other had clawed fingers. The being was quite tall. The tongue was long and whipping back and forth from the mouth which opened at the sides. It roared at Leon, the white eyes exactly like Ladder's. "Just get out of there and we'll try to fire at it from here!" Nicholas yelled at the male human.

They saw the monster slowly approaching the human. They all fired at it. After a few hits, the enemy jumped up to the roof of the platforms. Leon took this opportunity to move. He saw that the section he was on had a metal door. There was a green colored light next it. Shooting at this caused the door to open up. There was a switch behind this which was pressed. He realized this was one of the emergency switches and there had to be another nearby. Leon then moved and suddenly had to duck to avoid the enemy who tried to grab him. However the second time it managed to grab the human. Thanks to the others firing at the enemy and with Leon fighting back, the creature lost its grip on him. The guy then found the other switched and pressed it. The male human only had some second to get to the door before this section fell into the pit bellow. The enemy tried to grab him again but Leon was too quick. He made it and saw the section he was on fall. However he only walked a little ways in the second section when the enemy dropped down before him again.

"Shit!" Napoleon snarled and everyone fired.

This caused the creature to retreat for now. Leon found the first switched and pressed it. The guy then had to find the green light and shoot at it to get to the second one. The guy made it to the third section and everyone saw the previous one fall down. Leon then found the next switch and pushed it. The monster then appeared, making everyone groan. They then saw from the back a limb erupt, spraying blood out. Looking showed it had a mouth with sharp teeth and two limbs with blades on it. The rest of the group fired so the male human could get pass this thing. The male human quickly found the other switch and pressed it. A hook then descended from above for him to grab onto. Leon quickly made his way to the exit and jumped for the hook. He saw the monster try to follow and kill him but it was too late. The final section fell, taking it with it. The rest of the group met up with him near a section of a door that was right by and dug into. "Are you okay?" Liru asked. Kratos and Venus let out whines.

"I'm okay," Leon replied. Everyone began to walk forward and then heard a roar.

"Don't tell me…" Nicholas growled. They looked over the edge and saw the monster climbing up towards them. The group ran for it and pass the door just in time as the creature made it and tried to kill them with its blades. Gates came out, blocking the exit which meant it was time for a fight.

Everyone fired which caused the monster to rear back. Leon then spotted a barrel nearby and with a whistle alerted the others to it. They group lured the monster right next to it and he fired. There was an explosion, damaging the enemy. With a roar, it then burrowed underground. "Steady…" Cosmo said. Some of the group then moved as the creature came up from underneath them. Everyone then took the opportunity to fire with everything they had. It was just enough to kill the monster who let out a roar and for the body to smoke. It melted away and a gate opened which meant everyone could move on. What they didn't know was that it would be to the end.


	28. Chapter 28

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 28: Cult Defeated

The group had to double back to find a different door. There was a single metal one that going through found a different path that led to a ladder. The two dogs needed some help up that. At the top was a small area that had another, but shorter ladder. Climbing up this found the group at some kind of room. There was a door that led out to another section of the island that was outside. A wall made of fence material was on one side so nobody would go off that edge. To the right was another that looking showed there was a level down below. Everyone crept up to it and saw some enemies next to a couple of barrels. It was too perfect and the group fired at one which made all of them explode and caused most of the enemy to be killed. The one that hadn't been was dealt with swiftly. Then they went down to where they had been to collect the items and take a look around. Looking inside the main tent showed there was a hole with a ladder.

"Guess it's our only way to go ahead," Nicholas said.

"You sure?" Liru asked.

"Yeah. I can see ahead the way is blocked by a high fence with barbed wire."

The group went down the ladder and found they were in a small mine shaft as they could see the tracks for a cart. There were a couple of side paths that were looked into which had a few items. At the end of the tunnel was a ladder that led up and the weapon's merchant. Leon did the usual buying and selling. "Time to face whatever's up ahead," Napoleon said.

Pachira then noticed something by the weapon's merchant. "Wait, there's something here," she said and went over.

"What is it?" Uma asked.

"Looks like a note from Krew. Check it out."

The note started by saying that Ladder wasn't buying the enemy human from the start. Even though he had been successful in kidnapping Ashley, Krew had sort of sensed it when the cult leader hadn't completely let him in the loop. Under the circumstance, Krew had no alternate but to call her for assistance. By that the group figured he must have meant Ada. The note continued by saying perhaps Ada knew this was the way it was going to turn out along. Krew guessed her ultimate goal might be different from Desker's and Krew's. This was a perfect opportunity to find out. After he got rid of the group and retrieved the sample, he would put Ada in a body bag and send them all to Desker.

"Not going to happen," Nicholas growled. "No one's killing me."

It was then up the ladder. Everyone then saw they were on the other side of the fence the male werewolf had spotted from before. Ahead was some kind of entrance to a ruin. Leon took the lead through the double metal doors. On the other side of this were the ruins, but it was hard to tell what it might have been once. There were high points, pillars, and many walls. The group jumped down to the level it was at and began to walk forward. "So… you guys and her are all hooked up now is that it?" asked a familiar voice.

They looked and saw Krew. This time he had red face paint and his upper shirt was gone, revealing his muscled upper body. "Where's Ashley?!" Leon demanded.

"You really want to know? She's beyond that gate." The enemy indicated it with a jerk of his head to the right. "But you'll need three insignias to open it."

"What are you going to do Krew?!" Leon asked as everyone began to take some steps.

"There's one in the north. And another in the east," the other male human said, ignoring the first.

"And let me guess… You've got the last one."

"Which means all of you are on a tight leash," Krew finished, bringing out a machine gun with a laser.

"Sounds like you thought this one out pretty well." Leon then threw his grappling hook end at the enemy and moved. Nicholas and Liru retreated back with Kratos and Venus while the rest from the nether ran with the male human. Krew deflected the projectile and fired. Those who ran managed to get behind two of the pillars to avoid being killed.

"Just go on ahead and kick his ass!" Nicholas yelled to the others. "Me and Liru will catch up!"

Leon returned fire to Krew from behind his pillar. The enemy dodged the bullets. "Good Leon!" he taunted.

The first male human then moved to a nearby section of the room which was a small room. The rest from the nether who were fighting were right behind him. Krew came busting through the door and met Napoleon's fist. "Now we're talking," the second human said and flipped back. The girls all fired but Krew moved with blinding speed to dodge the bullets. With a quick move, he had them on the floor. The enemy then came in with his knife at Leon. The first human was able to dodge the blows and kick Krew to the ground. The guy recovered at lighting speed and was to get up before a bullet could be used on him. The guy then tossed a flash grenade and it went off with a blinding flash. By the time they were able to see, they saw Krew had moved on. Nicholas and Liru then came in and saw a door with a modern lock. Leon kicked the door open, showing it was unlocked.

Napoleon led the way this time. The enemy suddenly came out from behind one of the ruined walls. While the vampire was able to get a hit by a bullet, he still got a stab from the knife the enemy was wielding. The male vampire growled as the second human moved back to avoid attacks from the rest. The others noticed the bullet wound hadn't slowed the guy down. Meanwhile the knife wound the vampire had healed over. "Run all of you; run!" the enemy stated.

Nicholas went in this time with his katana, which made it hard for the others to fight since they didn't want to hit the male werewolf. The knife and sword collided and after a minute, Nicholas scored a hit. Krew was able to shrug it off and the others saw even though the wound was on his arm, the guy was acting like it was nothing. He then threw another flash grenade in order to retreat. "Damn it!" Nicholas growled.

"He's slippery and good," Liru said.

Leon took the lead this time. This time they went to some of the pillars and found the enemy waiting for them ahead on a higher ledge. Krew fired with his machine gun and did the most damage to the pillar Cosmo was behind. The guy actually destroyed it and managed to score some hits on the male android. "Caught you off guard, didn't I?" the enemy asked and came down.

Liru and Pachira came in with punches and kicks respectively. "I can see you're every move!" the enemy stated and blocked these before knocking them to the ground. Before he could drive his knife into their hearts, he had to move back to avoid the attacks from the others. The group then went under a ledge and found some stairs. They went up them and found the first seal. Leon picked it up. They then turned and saw Krew approaching them slowly.

"What do you intend to do restoring Rindella?" the first human asked.

"And why would the remains of them join with Millennium Virus?" Nicholas asked.

"To bring balance and order to this insane world of ours," Krew answered.

"A psycho like you can't bring order or balance," Leon sated.

"You don't seriously think a conservative mind can chart a new course for the world, do you?"

The enemy jumped up to a higher ledge and the way out was blocked by a gate. Krew tossed a few explosives at the group. They were able to avoid the explosions. Kratos and Venus had help from Nicholas and Liru. Krew then came down to attack. This time he went after Cosmo. The male wizard was able to dodge his blows and kick him down. The human lost his hat in the process. He then jumped up to the ledge above. "Don't just stand there!" he told the others. "Come on out and fight me like a man!"

"We're not falling for that one!" Leon shot back.

"Just trying to have fun."

"Despicable," Pachira growled.

Everyone fired at Krew who came down to fight. But when he did, the second human caught some more bullets. What shocked the group was that even though they had gotten Krew in some vital areas, they didn't stop him at all. The enemy threw another flash grenade. After he had disappeared a block of stone with a winged beast that was missing the head appeared. This was moved quickly to a section on the floor which made a lever appear. Pulling it unblocked the way back. Going back another switch was then found. Pulling it caused a gate up ahead to go down. The group went pass this and had to jump down due to the fact that the path ended and went to a lower level. Looking up ahead they spotted some kind of small robot guardians. One shot caused them to explode, creating scorch marks on the stones. The group went forward, but with a bit more caution now. It was a good thing they did since there were more robot guardians ahead, and there were even a few flying ones. The group went underneath a small tunnel and emerged. "What is it that you fight for comrades?" went Krew's voice.

They saw the enemy above them. "My past I suppose," Leon answered.

The enemy scoffed. "Rindella…" By that Krew meant the story the group had told him long ago about that incident in the city.

More robot guardians suddenly showed up. Everyone fell to a nearby tower that had some stairs. Bars then came out, blocking their way out. The group climbed up these and then found another path that was blocked. The only way up was by a ladder. "You go on ahead," Nicholas said. "Me, Liru, and the dogs will stay here."

"Good luck and try not to get killed," she commented.

The rest and Leon went up the ladder and quickly found the second seal. They then looked up and saw Krew standing on a ledge above them. They all regarded the other for a few seconds. "Two down, one more to go Krew," Leon stated.

"We'll see about that," the second human responded and tossed his machine gun to the side. The guy began to let out groans as his left hand clenched into a fist. The arm began to tremble. It was then raised up. Suddenly the fingers mutated into three long nail like structures. The entire arm also began to change with bone and skin splitting and moving. The arm then began to change in color as did the chest and back on the same side. The group took a step back in shock. They watched as the middle claw like structure began to grow longer and sharper. Suddenly it became an organic like blade with three more popping from the arm. "Witness the power!" 

"You've lost it completely, Krew," Leon stated.

"Prepare for your death all of you!"

The enemy jumped down to attack. He knocked them all out of the way and Leon over the edge of the area they were at. The enemy went over and stomped on the first human's hand. Leon quickly whipped out his combat knife and got Krew in the lower leg, causing the enemy to back off so the first human could pull himself up. "So that's how this guy shook off our attacks!" Napoleon snarled. "He's got a Lagas Parasite in him!"

Suddenly everyone heard the beeping sound of a countdown which only meant one thing. "Shit!" Logan exclaimed. "This place is gonna blow!"

Those from the nether fired at Krew who used his mutated arm blade as a shield. How this was done was by holding it out in front of him and the blades extended out to cover the guy. Nothing got through it. Leon then struck with his knife right below it and got the enemy. "So that's it huh?" Napoleon stated and charged in with his fists like he had with that vampire in Brazil. The male human and vampire kept attacking Krew while the rest stepped back. The enemy kept getting hit and then Napoleon with one last thrust forward stabbed his fist completely through the second human. Krew let out a groan as Napoleon wrenched his hand out of him. Then the group saw something on his chest explode and grabbed the area. With a final moan, Krew fell to the ground face down. The mutated bladed arm began to shrink and dissolve, showing the guy was dead.

Leon picked up the last insignia and the way out became open. The guy looked down at Krew. "Krew… what happened to you?" the first human asked. "You used to be a good guy…"

The group then left the area and were reunited with the rest down below. None of them noticed a shadowy figure suddenly appear and grab the dead body of the second human before moving. Leon, the dogs, and those from the nether then found a ledge to jump off of and down to a lower area. They found the area where the insignias went and quickly inserted them. The wall moved out of the way to reveal a pair of doors. They all went in quickly. On the other side, they heard the explosion happen and were glad they had gotten out of that mess. But they had hardly gone up the path when Leon's radio went off. It was Ladder. "So… it seems you guys have killed Krew to," the enemy said. "How shall I return my appreciation?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nicholas replied. "We thought he was with you."

"What the hell are you talking about? Did you really think I'd trust an American? To tell you the truth, I was contemplating how to get rid of him. But thanks to you guys, that's no longer necessary."

"You were just using him right from the start," Leon stated.

"I must hand it to you…" Ladder commented. "You guys have demonstrated quite a bit of promise by killing Krew. When your assimilation with Las Lagas is complete, I'll have you serve as my guard. The rest of you I will bend to my will by other ways since it seems you nether world beings can't be infected."

"Unfortunately, we're going to have to decline your generous offer. We have prior engagements."

"Enjoy your smart mouthing while you can." The call was then ended.

The group looked ahead and saw they were entering one of the more heavily industrialized areas as they could see stacks with fire and smoke coming out of these. They then notice the number of enemies and saw these even had some pretty serious weapons. They all ducked behind some crates. "Damn!" Leon said.

Suddenly the sound of a helicopter was heard by them and the group looked up just as the light it had turned on to see them. Leon's radio went off to show the person in the vehicle was contacting him and the human answered. "Hey, it's about time."

"I'm confused at who it is…" Nicholas said.

"I think this might be the second helicopter that was being sent after the first one was shot down," Liru stated. "Remember we got a call about that all the way back at the village?"

"Ah, yeah. I remember now."

"Sorry, bad traffic," came the reply from the second human. "I'll cover you guys."

The vehicle then moved and began to ram into one of the structures in the area. After a bit of work the helicopter knocked it over, causing the enemy to notice the new threat. Before they could act, the second human fired at them with some of the machine guns on the side of the helicopter. The cult members were slaughtered before an explosion happened which blew up another structure. "Holy!" Napoleon shouted.

"That's one hell of a piolet!" Logan yelled.

"Now that's what I call back up!" Leon said into his radio to the piolet.

"My name's Mike," the piolet replied. "You looking for firepower? You came to the right place."

The group began to move forward but then had to take cover from another enemy who fired from a mounted Gatling gun. "Incoming!" Nicholas shouted and moved Kratos out of the way while Liru took care of Venus. Everyone else was able to find cover.

When the bullets stopped, Leon went ahead to the next sheltered area. The rest from the nether and dogs followed suit. They saw Mike flying up ahead while he blew up another area. By this point Leon, Napoleon, and Pachira were in a small structure that had a ladder. They killed what came up it before pushing this over. "Keep splitting up to take them out!" Nicholas told the rest.

Some of the group then went forward under a metal bridge. Another Gatling gun was firing at them. While this path only led to a dead end after a couple of ladder climbs, at least this small amount of the group was able to see Mike blow up another structure. Leon, Napoleon, and Pachira in the meantime found a different path after going pass the same Gatling gun. They found a structure and got the doors open. Stepping out, they saw another enemy with a heavy machine gun and red cap like what had been fought when first arriving at this island. They made a hasty retreat to see if they could get any of the enemy to follow them. Cosmo and Aiko then made it and with the male android's help, he and Leon were able to snipe this enemy from afar. That cleared up a path to a gate. Upon getting to it the male human pulled a lever to remove this barrier. Upon doing so, the rest of the group caught up with them. They all went in as one before ducking behind some walls. It was a good thing because two more enemies with Gatling guns began to fire at them. "I'll get the one on the left," Leon stated to Nicholas who was right by the male werewolf.

The human moved and took care of the first one which allowed some of the others to join up with him. This small band were then able to move in and take care of the second main gun which allowed Mike to come in and blow up another structure. After a bit of moving forward, the group saw the gate ahead with two switches. This was closed off which meant pulling the two switches to get it open again. After a bit more of firing and moving, the way was open again. Everyone was quickly through this and found themselves in a small tunnel with stairs leading up. "I think we can catch our breath here," Liru whispered.

"That was quite the intense shooting there," Uma said.

"I think the fireworks aren't over yet," Logan commented.

A couple of minutes later, the group continued up the stairs and soon emerged on the outside again. They were by some pillars and then suddenly came to a screeching halt as enemies suddenly appeared, all of them armed. There were too many of them. Nicholas let out a growl as did Kratos and Venus, the male werewolf going for his katana and the arms transforming. Then everyone looked up to see that Mike had arrived. "Take cover!" he ordered and fired at the enemies.

Those in the group ducked behind some of the pillars as the enemies were slaughtered by the hail of bullets from the helicopter. When they were all gone, the group came out from their hiding places. "Thanks!" Leon told Mike through his radio. "When we get back, drinks are on me!"

"Yeah! I know a good bar!"

Suddenly Aiko noticed a rocket heading towards the helicopter. "Look out!" she shouted.

It was too late. The thing hit the vehicle causing parts of it to explode and catch on fire. "MIKE!" Leon yelled. They saw the helicopter fall in slow motion. The group went to the edge and saw it fall and hit the ground. Some then turned their head in the direction where the rocket had come from and saw Ladder with a Lanados who had done the shooting. These two then walked away.

"We'll make sure you're the next to go Ladder!" Leon stated.

His radio then went off and the guy answered to reveal it was the cult leader himself. "I'm sorry all of you," the enemy said mockingly.

"Ladder you mother fucker," Nicholas snarled, his teeth becoming sharper in anger.

"It's nothing to get all upset about. Don't tell me you've never swatted a bothersome fly. In essence, it's the same thing."

"What did you say?!" Napoleon snarled as the rest from the nether barred their teeth, getting looks of outraged.

"Insects life doesn't compare to human lives!" Leon exclaimed.

"When you've acquired this power, you too will understand," Ladder said.

"Guess it's another good reason to get the parasite out of my body."

"I wish you luck." The call was then ended.

Leon went to the edge of the cliff and saw the smoking wreckage of the helicopter. "Mike… I'll make sure they pay!" the human stated.

"Well said," Nicholas agreed. "Now then, let's go get him."

"It seems those double wooden doors ahead is where we have to go," Liru said, pointing them out.

The group went through them and found that they were at some more ruins. They were silent as they continued and found a hole with a ladder. In just a bit they were all down there. Right by was a pearl pendant on some kind of stone slab. This was sent with the other treasures for safe keeping for those from the nether. Leon then spotted a doorway and led the way through. But then he clutched his chest and let out some groans. "Leon?" Uma asked.

Nicholas sniffed the air and turned around. "I should've known you were following us." The rest except the male human looked and saw Ada walking up to them.

"Leon, you okay?" she asked since the said guy continued to groan and clutch his chest.

"Yeah," he managed to reply but then stumbled as the guy felt another pain in his chest. The male human let out some grunts and slowly rose up and looked to Ada. Leon turned to her and suddenly reached out to grab the female's throat. The guy's eyes had turned the color of red.

"LEON!" Nicholas stated and whipped out his katana, stabbing the guy a little in the leg. The male werewolf was then able to throw him off of Ada.

Both human were gasping and the female was massaging her neck. "Sorry," he said, getting up and taking some of the pills Luis had giving him, his eyes their normal color. The rest from the nether were getting over the shock of what had happened.

"We have to get that parasite out of your body," Napoleon stated.

"Yeah," Aiko agreed. "But before that, we've got to save Ashley."

"Let's split up," Ada suggested and went through a door on one side of the room.

The group then took a different one. It was then a short path before they were inside some kind of prison. They also heard the sound of a Reviver which called for Leon to use the special thermal scope with his riffle to kill it. It was then up a ledge and through a door into an outside area. They all went forward, killing the enemies that stood in the way. It was shown that most of them had first stage Lagas limbs that erupted from the necks. Leon then found a control panel with a green button. But when he tried to press it, one of the enemies tripped an alarm that caused more to appear. These were all defeated and an Emergency Lock Card Key was obtained. Once all the enemies were killed, the items of value were found and taken before the group found the place where the card key went. Doing so made it so the button Leon had found could be used again. That and another were pushed so the way forward would become unlocked. The group made it through and found themselves in another hallway. Only a few enemies were here and killed. But then at last, Leon and the nether world beings made it to the pair of double doors that would led them to Ashley.

They went through these and found the female human in some kind of holding container and unconscious. The room was somewhat dim with barrels in some of the corners. There was also medical equipment and computers to. Everyone had hardly taken some steps forward when they heard a familiar voice. "You will soon harbor an awesome power." The turned and saw Ladder standing to the side with his hood off revealing the guy had very short hair. "But it seems you would rather choose death."

"We're taking Ashley back weather you like it or now!" Leon snapped back.

"Oh, the audacity of youth," the enemy sighed and suddenly moved. Everyone was caught off guard that Ladder's speed was at super human levels. With a single palm strike he sent everyone but the dogs to the ground, showing he had super strength. They all let out coughs and groans as the enemy approached. He was suddenly stopped by a hail of bullets from a machine gun. The group was able to look up and saw it was Ada who had fired. She then stopped and while Ladder still staggered, Leon managed to get Ashley out.

"No way…" Logan suddenly said, making everyone look to the cult leader. They saw his body was smoking from the fire but the wounds were gone. The enemy let out a groan and with a flick of the wrist, the bullets popped out, showing he was unharmed. Ladder slowly looked up, his creepy grin coming out.

"MOVE!" Ada ordered. The rest didn't need to be told twice and ran for it as best as they could since Ashley was still half out of it, but waking up. Some looked back and saw the female human fire at the cult leader who was slowly walking after them. Ada then fired at some of the barrels which exploded and fell in front of Ladder's path to stop him.

Everyone then reached the part of the room that would lead to another outside area. Ashley by this point was awake and told what had happened quickly. The group then noticed another memo left by Luis. There was a picture of a machine and a scan of human torso. The memo then started by saying from the initial stages of the research, they had been searching for a safe and practical way to remove the Lagas. But the real objective was to make sure the infected person couldn't have the parasite removed easily. In the end, they found out the way was by exposing the Lagas to a special type of radiation. The only drawback was that the procedure was very painful. Since the parasites attached to the nerves, there was a chance the host's consciences may be impaired. Another fact that was mentioned was that once the Lagas reached adulthood, the removal process would kill the host. The memo ended by saying that death wasn't so bad when thinking about the alternative.

Nicholas took these and then the group went through a single door that led to a hallway. There were only a few enemies that were in the way and these were killed quickly. Behind some sliding door, they found the machine. Leon walked up to it. "This hunk of junk?" Ashley stated. "I don't know about this Leon."

"There's only one way to find out," he replied. "You guys operate."

The male human got in the chair. Those at the machine turned it on and holders on the chair came out to help the guy from not injuring himself during this. Two mechanical arms with points came out and to his chest. The guy took a deep breath to steady his nerves. An x-ray appeared on a screen showing the Lagas inside of him. "You sure you want to do this?" Ashley asked him.

"Yeah," Leon replied.

"Here goes nothing," Liru stated and pressed a button to begin the operation. Another screen showed the process was happening as the arms above Leon's chest shot some kind of white electricity. The human let out some groans and gasps as the operation happened. The rest looked on with worried looks. Then one more shock happened and it was over. Leon slumped in the chair and on the x-ray the others saw the Lagas inside him denigrate.

"How you felling?" Nicholas asked as the holders went back into the chair and the male human sat up, rubbing his wrists.

"Like a million bucks."

"I thought you were going to die," Ashley said. She then took a breath. "Okay. Guess I'm up."

The operation was a success and then those from the nether went onto the chair to have an x-ray done of them. Just like the enemy had stated, they weren't infected at all. It was the same for Kratos and Venus. "Well I don't know about you, but I say it's time we go home," Leon said.

"Not yet," Nicholas growled. "We can't leave until Ladder is killed. If we don't he'll just create another cult again."

The group then went out of the room and up some stairs. There was a door leading out with a document on a side crate. It was titled Our Mission. There were two pics, one of the current president of the United States talking at a podium and the other of a mass of people listening to him. The document began by saying that the power of the United States lay in three areas; the Justice Department, the Administrative Bodies, and the Military. In order to take control of these areas, the cult had to influence the minds of the people who advise the President. Once this way done, the rest of the departments would follow swiftly. If by chance the United States found out about the cult's plans, the damage would be minimal. They would still be able to conquer the country as planned using their backup plan. Once this country was in the cult's control, they would use their international influence to their advantage. Then the rest of the world would fall swiftly. As for the second plan, that would be using special forces to infiltrate the country from within. Chaos and fear would spread through the United States like a virus. It would be only a matter of time when the country would lose its stability. Then the cult would strike. The world would soon be cleansed.

This was taken and then it was through some doors again. This time the path was on the outside but in an area that was still under construction in some places. The group made it to an elevator that would take them up. "Something's not right," Leon said. He then turned to Ashley. "You stay here."

The female human nodded and the rest, including Kratos and Venus took the ride up. They saw the construction pillars and materials all over the place. Then they noticed Ada was here to and tied by some ropes while suspended in midair from a crane hook. She was unconscious. "Ada!" Leon stated and ran up to help her. He then looked and saw Ladder slowly walking forward while his staff was pulsing and the tentacles were out. The enemy raised his hand up but the first human let out a scoff, knowing nothing would happen. Ladder realized it to and grunted in anger.

"Better try a new trick, cause that one's getting old," Leon said and threw his combat knife at the rope holding Ada. It sliced through them and she fell on a soft tarp, awakening. "You okay?"

"I've had better," she replied.

Ladder let out a chuckle. "What's so funny?" Nicholas growled to him and those from the nether stepped up next to Leon. Kratos and Venus barred their teeth and growled to.

"Oh I think you know," the cult leader replied. "The American and hero prevailing are clichés that only happens in your Hollywood movies. Oh, Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether, you entertain me. To show my appreciation, I will help you all awaken from your world of clichés!"

The enemy's mouth opened wide and his eyes rolled back in their sockets. The teeth were spaced out and rounded. But in the middle of the mouth was a huge, throbbing yellow eye. The group heard something rumbling from in the body of Ladder. "Ada! Step back!" Leon told her. The female human did so while Nicholas let out a shout and fully transformed, drawing his katana. Napoleon's fangs grew as usual.

Ladder's face had become stretched and taunt, the skin turning to a sickly grey. The head extended out on a limb and suddenly the staff fused with the right arm, with it becoming a long thick tendril. In an explosion of disgusting brown goo, the group saw three legs emerge from the neck. They were pointed and a mix of flesh, red, orange, and brown in a sickly combination. A fourth one erupted out of the neck, and everyone noticed these had eyes right at the area where the joints bent. The head of the mutated enemy came forward, showing it had gained three curved sections that came in. There were also multiple Ladas limbs with blades on the back of the enemy.

In a surprising move, the monster jumped up and the group moved out of the way to avoid being crushed. "He can do that?!" Logan exclaimed.

"Fire at those eyes on the legs!" Nicholas stated.

The group did so which caused Ladder to fall to the ground. Leon and the male werewolf ran up to the monster and stabbed at the eye in the mouth. Yellow goo came out and the two moved out of the way as the enemy rose up again. "Let's move back!" Napoleon stated, spying a control for one of the cranes nearby. "I've got an idea!"

The rest did so and saw that despite the enemy's size, the mutated being was fast. They fired at one of the eyes on the legs again and managed to cause it to go to the floor. This time, the girls from the nether took the turn of attacking the main weak point. Ladder rose up and launched his head at the group but they were able to dodge this attack. "Get him over here!" the male vampire told them. He was by the controller.

Kratos and Venus ran around Ladder, barking and distract him. The enemy tried to crush the canines, but they were too fast. The monster then moved into perfect position. Napoleon operated the crane which moved some steel beams it was holding and crashed it into the enemy. They were scattered and the monster went to the ground. Logan and Uma nodded at each other and fired off their most powerful combined magic attack. It hit the monster but even that wasn't enough. "Use this!" came Ada's voice.

Everyone looked to see she had a rocket launcher and tossed it to their level. The enemy used that to his advantage and picked up one of the steel beams, throwing it at the group. "Look out!" Leon shouted. They were able to dodge this but then the monster managed to strike those from the nether down hard. The male human ran up to the rocket launcher and grabbed it. There was only one shot. Ladder turned around to face him just as the male human fired.

It was a perfect shot. There was an explosion and one of the legs was blown off. Ladder let out a roar as a ton of yellow goo came out. His body fell to the ground and withered up, becoming black and was still. Leon looked and saw the sample was right by the enemy's smoking remains. He went over to it and picked it up. Those from the nether were beginning to rise up again, but wouldn't be able to full move for another minute. Suddenly they saw Ada cock her gun at the back of Leon's head.

"Sorry, Leon," she said. "Hand it over."

"Ada… You do know what this is?" he slowly asked, handing it over and stood up to look at her.

"Damn it!" Nicholas growled, turning back to normal. Napoleon's fangs shrunk. "I can't move in order to stop her!"

The female human smirked to show she did. Suddenly the sound of a helicopter was heard. Ada ran and jumped over a ledge. Leon ran up and saw she was now in the vehicle which was unmarked. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of it," she said.

"ADA!" Leon shouted.

"Gotta go. If I were you, I'd get off this island to." She pulled out a device and pressed a button.

"She pushed it!" the male human exclaimed, knowing this place was going to blow

because of her.

"Here, catch." She threw some keys to Leon who caught them. "Better get a move on. See you around." The helicopter she was in flew off into the distance with the sun beginning to rise.

The male human looked and saw the small teddy bear attached to the keys. "Very cute…" he said sarcastically.

The rest from the nether joined up with him, now full able to move. "I never trusted her fully," Cosmo stated.

"How could she after all that?" Aiko asked.

"Never mind that, this place is going to blow," Leon said.

There wasn't any time to lose. They made it back to Ashley and found a side path that led to a small cave. Following the trail led to a small underground harbor where some jet skies were. There was just enough for everyone. Logan and Uma used their magic to help Kratos and Venus and then everyone got on them with Leon leading the way. They all made it out just in time and were able to see the island explode. The threat of the cult Los Rilluminados was gone forever. "We did it!" Liru stated.

"Not quiet," Leon replied. "We still have to get Ashley home." 

"Sounds like a great plan," Pachira agreed.

"So… who was that woman?" Ashley asked to Leon.

"Why do you ask?" he replied.

"Come on!"

"She's like a part of me I can't let go. Let's just leave it at that."

Suddenly Leon's radio went off and he answered. It was Runnigan but she didn't have her glasses on. "Runnigan! Is that you?!" Napoleon stated.

"Finally… the line's jack free," she replied.

"Hey Runnigan, no glasses," Leon commented.

"Forget the glasses. What the status of your mission?" 

"We've rescued the subject. We're returning home." 

"You did it guys!"

"Thanks," Leon replied. "You know you're kinda cute without those glasses. Give me your number when I get back?"

"Need I remind you, you're still on duty," she stated.

The male human rolled his eyes with amusement. "Story of my life." He then ended the call.

Nicholas looked off in the distance with a frown. "What's wrong?" Liru asked.

"I just can't help but think that even though we stopped this cult something bad will still happen," he replied. "What Krew said about Rindella and Millennium Virus… I've got a bad feeling about this…"

The male werewolf was right as everything had been observed by the true enemy. The Major from before and Doctor, along with the man with tanned skin and dull green military coat were watching on a screen. The short human let out a laugh. "Poor Osmund Ladder! Looks like a broken rag doll like the Dandy Man when Napoleon was done with him! Our opponents are quite impressive don't you think? They're stronger than any of us could have possibly imagined!" 

"I… I am so sorry Major," the Doctor replied, biting on one of his fingers. "I suppose this mean there is still much work to be done."

"Please!" the first human responded and turned off the screen. "Don't be ridiculous! This is the dawn of our great success! The things we've learned today will serve us well against our enemy in the future. I tell you Doctor, so many years of hard work are about to pay off! You will build monsters, turn them into soldiers, organize them, supply them, train them, militarize them! We are the last Battalion!" The same sentence was then said in German. "It is magnificent; my brilliant Doctor!"

"Thank you Major." 

Suddenly Desker walked in. "We have gotten Krew's dead body for samples," he stated. "And Ada will have the sample delivered to us soon."

"Good," the Major said. "This delightful show must now begin to draw to an end. It's time we headed back home for a bit, don't you think? Captain! Let's bring her home as quickly! We've kept the gentlemen in the opera house waiting long enough! So please let us make haste; I imagine very soon they will begin to put things together!"

"Understood sir," came the reply in a German accent. "Very serious business indeed! I'll have her tilt the whole way Major!" The others were given out in German. The vehicle they were in which was a zeppelin began to move in the sky.

"We're coming!" the Major stated. "And I don't care how many hundreds, or thousands, or millions, or billions of people try to stop me! Yes! Anyone who dare stands in my way will be destroyed!"


	29. Chapter 29

Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 29: Declaration of War and Final Pieces

Somewhere in Europe the Zeppelin landed in a huge holding area. From the entrance, The Major, the Doctor, the Captain, and Desker exited. They paused as a huge group of people saluted them with their right hands out in a diagonal direction. At the same time this was going on Lexwell who those from the nether had met in that museum was interrogating someone in the Vatican who had apparently worked with the Major during World War II. "The despicable, smug little smirk he wore on his face. That dreadful laugh; his checks puffing up for every action. He looked nothing like any Nazi SS officer I had ever seen! The pudgy creature spoke with a mad authority. He was a male ready to command the legions of hell itself!"

"But at the time, back in 1941, you was a member of the Vatican's European General Director collaborated with this man, and his organization," stated the human doing the interrogating

"He was accountable to no one but the Fuehrer!" the human being interrogated replied. "You must understand we were forced into collaborating!"

"Yes, of course you were," Lexwell replied, almost in a mocking voice that then turned serious. "And so they set their plains into motion."

Meanwhile Leon and those from the nether had made it back to the main land. Logan had retrieved the treasures from their safe spot and all had been distributed equally. Ashley was just getting some much-needed rest while Napoleon and Leon were on his radio with Runnigan. Nicholas and Liru were on their way back from getting some food since the group were now in an area of civilization. They male human and vampire then learned that they were to head to the UN Building in New York. The situation had gotten so complicated with monsters and viruses that leaders of the world had begun to notice. Something had to be done fast before things went from bad to worse. Even the Queen of England would attend this but be on screen. There was also talk of a group formed to combat these called the DSSA, short for Destroying Security Assessment Alliance. "Well now things have gotten interesting," Napoleon stated with a grin and actually laughed.

Meanwhile the Major were face to face with others who had played roles in German's army during World War II. Some were in wheel chairs due to being older, a couple required walking sticks, and the rest were still fit like the first two. The head of them was shaking with anger. "What the hell is this, Major?!" he snapped.

The smug grin on the guy's face got wider. "There's simply no way I can tell you that corneal. My orders are top secret issued personally by the late Fuehrer!" The other person limped over until he was face to face. The Major smirked even more but the other human growled and struck suddenly with his right back fist. It sent the shorter human back a few inches and on his face. Now he had a bloody nose. Desker made no move at all, but was surprised by the strength this human had.

"Don't you dare take that attitude with me!" the Corneal snarled and began to beat the first male with his walking stick. "Why won't you turn us into vampires?! Why?! WHY?! ANSWER ME YOU MISERABLE SPINE!"

Suddenly a gun shot was heard and the walking stick was blown apart, stopping the Colonel as he looked over with fear at the one who had done it. "That's enough back talk from you corneal," they replied. "One more childish outburst and I'll blow your fucking head off."

All of the Major's men pointed their guns at the Colonel, their eyes glowing red and teeth sharper, showing they were vampires like Napoleon and Pachira. "Major…" the Colonel replied weakly as the shorter human got up with a huge, evil grin. "What is this? What would drive you to create an army of a 1,000 vampires?"

"I intend to imbed on the infinity pleasure of war and revenge," stated the Major. "Und so I will bring forth another, und another war, und again, und again."

"This male's plans, it called the creation of many vampires," Lexwell continued during the interrogation while the second human was sweating so much from fear it was pooling onto the table. "The Fuehrer 's secret last battalion. How simple. But you did more to help fund the operation, and you were more than a mere pawn. The title more suited to you my friend, is collaborator." The human being interrogated was looking on the second with fear and whimpering from it. "You were forced to corporate? Ridiculous. You asked him to turn you into a vampire, didn't you?"

"It- it wasn't just me!" the first human stammered, now panicking. "All of us! All of us were forced to help him! They tricked me! Please! Help me Lexwell! I'm a begging you!" The said human closed his eyes as another in the room circled to get behind the man being interrogated.

"No, no way," Nicholas in the meantime stated to the others. "It won't work. It's pointless."

"But getting back to the United States would take an extra week by boat!" Uma said.

"Going on a jet is out of the question! Runnigan has given reports of the skies being watched! And there's the fact we probably need a permit or license of some kind to get the treasures along with Kratos and Venus out of the country!"

Liru was next to the two and had one hand on each. "It might be nice to take it slow after all the fast action we've had," the female werewolf stated. Suddenly a figure came bursting through a wall with a shout. Everyone looked up in shock and were even more so when they saw it was Fileson along with Super Doctor K-Ko and her assistant. Although these three hadn't been seen for a long time, they were recognized by everyone but Leon. The paladin priest slowly began to walk forward. Napoleon got a psychotic grin and rose up. The two males approached and drew their fists back. Both made contact with the other a few times, drawing blood. The rest were still getting over the shock. Ashley was asleep though and wouldn't know of this. Napoleon spat out the blood from his mouth.

"I've had enough, Fileson!" he stated, drawing his guns. K-Ko and her assistant were just standing back. The male priest flicked some blood from his nose and his glasses had been knocked off and were broken. The guy drew his bayonets. Pachira began to come in with a heavy object, but Fileson turned his head to her, causing the female vampire to back off in fear. The priest paladin smirked and then threw something at her. Pachira flinched and then realized it had gone to the wall behind her. Some kind of paper that was being held by a bayonet. The female vampire sank to her knees weakly. Fileson picked up his glasses from the ground as the males from the nether looked to him with a questioning look.

"The Vatican has a small, private jet 13 kilometers north of here," the human priest stated. "There's your release paper. Our people are expecting you. So take it, and get the hell out of here before I decide to decapitate you again."

The group left and found his words to be true. Leon was told about the other three who had come barraging in. Meanwhile in the room Lexwell was in, the human being interrogated had a gun to his head from the one that had circled behind him. The first human was walking out with a smile and his hand up. "Amen," Lexwell said simply and the second male was shot in the back of the head, blood and gore spraying onto the table. There really was a plane and the group made it back to the United States. Ashley was reunited with her father but the rest had to head to the UN Building. The President would properly thank the group once the meeting was over. All the documents gathered while fighting the cult had been copied. Those from the nether were keeping the original. When that was finished, it was onto the meeting. Leon was going as well. They were all dressed up and entered into the main meeting area. Even Kratos and Venus were with them. The world leaders all looked to the group.

"We have arrived. I hope we're not late," stated Nicholas.

"Not at all," came the President's reply. He was attending this as well. Those from the nether then noticed Lexwell was here to with two other humans which surprised them. "Now then, I take it everyone is present?" Looking showed that everyone was. Even the Queen of England's monitor was on and showed she was listening and watching this. "Now then, it's time to tell everyone here what has happened." The group began with stating all that had happened with the enemy up until now. They left the pieces from that realm out though.

"The information Napoleon gained from one of top officers in that organization is the final bit," Nicholas stated. "The remains of Rindella have joined up with them. Now it seems were dealing with Nazis and them. Like a last battalion."

Suddenly a new voice sounded out in the room. "I guess some spilled blood and files must have given us away." Everyone turned in shock to see a male in German uniform standing there. The hair was very light in color and the person had magenta colored eyes. But there were also small cat like ears on the head. "Someone sure blew that one."

Some including those from the nether reached for guns. The newcomer held up his hands. "Whoa there!" he stated. "I'm just a messenger. I'm not here to fight anyone."

"Explain this someone," stated the president.

"I do apologize," stated the head guard. "I don't know how he got pass security."

"They are useless against me. I'm everywhere and nowhere." " _A child?_ " Liru thought. " _What is this person even? Another from the nether?_ "

"To the gathered represents here today, my commanding officer, the glorious Major has a message for all of you. Please attend carefully." The guy brought out another monitor and a remote. But when pressing the on button, nothing happened. The male tried again and again. Then a voice could be heard.

"What's going on? There's no picture! Warrant Officer Schrödinger, the screen is not working!" Suddenly a static image appeared and came into focus. "Hold on! Right there! That's good!" It was the Major and some kind of muffled screaming could be heard. This was the first time anyone had seen him. They could see a room filled with bloody corpses of the others who had played leading roles in German's army. Everyone either narrowed the eyes in disgust or wondering.

"Major, looks like you've really got your hands full," stated Schrödinger.

"No, no, things are going well," came the reply of the human. "It feels as if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I'm feeling quite grateful." Everyone then noticed Desker who smirked.

"Hello there Desker," Napoleon growled.

"Ah yes, the male vampire," the human with sunglass replied. "Charmed to see you and the others again. It's been quite a while hasn't it?" The first male bared his teeth at the enemy.

"What is it that you want?" Nicholas asked in a stern tone.

"Hm?" the Major responded. "Ah, finally face to face with the head werewolf and his fräulein themselves. Mr. Nicholas and Liru, I assume; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"What's the purpose? What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Answer him!" Liru demanded when the enemy human didn't respond.

"Answer his questions?" the Major purred. "What a silly request my beautiful fräulein. Purpose… quite…" The male began to giggle and those in the room got a sense of dread. "To put it in the simplest terms fräulein and the rest, our purpose is a total absence of purpose." The camera then turned to see the same Colonel who had lashed out was now tied and mouth gaged. He was absolutely terrified and wearing a sign that had the words, "Hang the defeatist" in German. There were other vampires ready to kill him. "You should be aware, all of you, that there are certain people in this world, certain ones, for whom the means does not require an end. I speak of course of myself." The Major snapped his fingers and the male tied up was attacked by the vampires, drinking his blood and ripping parts of him off.

"Let's hope this gets the message across," said the Doctor who was recording this. "If he turns into a ghoul, I will not be happy. Not really."

Everyone watching this looked on with shock or disgust. "Oh wow," said Schrödinger with a grin. "I didn't think your decision would be that harsh sir." The camera then went back to the Major.

"You're insane, all of you," Lexwell stated. "Did I just hear someone from Iscariot questioning my sanity?" the Major responded. "Well let me ask you this, if your god would allow my madness to flourish across the globe… Then wouldn't it seem to you that any god like that would be just as mad as I?" This caused the other human to bare his teeth in anger. "We are the finest of the third rank. Do you have any idea how many people we have killed? I would say, what foolishness! You didn't have any objections during World War II! But never mind that. Try to stop us then you self-proclaimed normal people! But unfortunately, almost none of you here are my true enemies. My true enemy is Japan! Those who have fought against us and destroyed Rindella! Well really it's now that vulpine and werewolf who are laughing in the corner back there!"

Everyone looked and could see Nicholas and Napoleon doing so. But one not like they enjoyed this, but one of disbelief. "A declaration of war then?" the long-haired replied. "So be it! We'll be sure to crush you!"

"No matter what you do, we will never give up. We will reverse this ridiculous situation as many times as we need!"

"Now one of you, get the messenger," stated the President to those from the nether. Cosmo whipped out his gun and shot Schrödinger in the head. The body was sent back, the head destroyed. Blood and gore was sprayed everyone

"Fine, shot the messenger if that is what it comes to," commented the Major. "Until then all of you and Liru, my fräulein. I look forward to see you across the battle field." The monitor was also shot. Those then looked and saw the dead body had just simply vanished and were shocked by this. Even the mess was gone. But now those from the nether were given the order to do whatever it took to destroy Millennium Virus. But they could return home to Japan and then figure things out. They were also told about DSSA and that their old friends, Chris and Jill, were a part of it. Meanwhile the Major, Doctor, Captain, and Desker were walking down a hallway.

"Doctor, Captain, once I start my dance, I dance to the bitter end," the short human stated.

"Enjoy it to the fullest Major," the taller human with dirty blonde hair said. The four then reached a monitoring room. The rest inside saluted the Major with their right hand held up in the Nazi fashion.

"You're so slow," Schrödinger's voice stated. He was seating on the Major's chair which was made of fine leather and very comfortable. "In the time that it took you to walk down one little hallway, I went all the way to the UN Building, got my head blown off and made it back. Perhaps you should think about going on a diet, Major."

The said person chuckled with amusement. "No, I couldn't do that," he said.

The Doctor grabbed Schrödinger by the scruff of his neck. "Show some respect, Warrant Officer Schrödinger!" he stated in anger.

"It's alright Doctor," the Major commented. "My Warrant Office has succeeded in his mission." The said guy smirked but the Doctor had a look of irritation. The short human took his place in the seat. "So then… onto the next phase."

"Yes," Desker replied. "That new organization being formed is a minor issue for now. But it's best to keep an eye on them. In the meantime, the main problem are those from the nether. But it shouldn't be a problem even if they run into Deltro."

"Yes. Have we been able to acquire a sample of what they've developed?"

"We are close." "Excellent. Then let us keep our eyes and ears open for now."

Meanwhile in a dark room, Lexwell had made contact with Fileson by phone. "Yes sir," the paladin priest said. "We're bleeding information from them like a stuck pig. The vampires have had their agents ambush me four times since I got here." There were bodies surrounding him, all dead and with limbs and head detached from the main bodies.

"They have informants all across the world," the second human stated. "South America, The United Stated, the Vatican, Japan. Just stay alert, and do not underestimate the resorfullence of this scum."

"So now the question we have to ask ourselves is, what's Millennium Virus's next move going to be?"

"At the moment, it's not known the full plan. But they've set their sights on Japan."

"Imagine that," Fileson replied. "It's all turned out just as you thought it would Lexwell. You must be pleased."

"Quiet please," the second human said. "And yet… There's something distasteful about this situation."

"Then maybe you should've shown a little backbone. The pudgy little maggot called our Lord in heaven a mad man."

"He's not the least bit interested in us. He's focusing all his attention on those from the nether and those who have fought off Rindella and other viruses. With that in mind, I thought actions would speak louder than words."

"Ah… I see. So you're going to prepare a surprise attack when the time comes."

"Exactly. When the dust is settled, we will be the ones standing in the ring with our fists raised high. His Holiness, the Pope, has just issued the order a few days ago. He's transferred several orders under my command. The Vatican's administrative of Holy Relics 3rd division Mathew has also gone into action. Specialized anti-vampire and anti-virus armaments are being prepared as we speak."

Fileson let out a laugh. "This almost feels like a crusade," he said.

"Yes, exactly like a crusade," Lexwell stated. "Only this time, we don't face Allah! This time we'll hunt a war god! This time, we will face Mars! Destroy castle after castle! Pillage town after town! We will use their mangled corpses and build monuments to the price of their insolence! You are the instrument of divine will Fileson. Return to headquarters by whatever mean you see fit."

"Yes sir!" The second human then said a line in Latin. "Amen!" Fileson replied and hung up. He slowly turned and saw enemy vampire soldiers and some zombies caused by the viruses seen so far. "Mars…" The guy slowly approached and was fired upon. The bullets didn't do anything due to his healing ability. The human's bayonets came out and struck the vampire opponents down. "Mars!" The zombies were then quick to follow. "Mars… Alright you bastards. It's time you had a taste of divine punishment!"

Meanwhile those from the nether had made it back to their home in Japan and had put the treasures gathered from the last mission in the right spots. Kratos and Venus had settled in quiet nicely. As for Napoleon and Pachira, the two went the next step in their relationship and he took the female's virginity as she did with the male. Both of them then started to have sex whenever possible. This had been coming for a while so it wasn't a surprise to them. The only question was when it would happen. Thanks to this, the female vampire learned quite a bit which would help someone else latter on. However, for Liru she had felt nervous the first night back. The female had been separated from Nicholas during this last trip. Would the male want to take her then? Liru had seen it and heard about it before with lovers who had been through situations like that. He in turn would learn something that had happened the night after those brothers had attacked. "Are you okay honey?" Nicholas had asked before going to bed. "You seem nervous."

"Nicholas..." The female replied and then stopped, her courage failing her for a second.

"Liru, you can tell me," he said gently.

"You're not… you're not going to try something tonight, are you?" That left her boyfriend so confused he just looked at the female with raised eyebrows.

"Honey, what are you talking about?"

Liru blushed hard thinking about trying to find the words. "It's just… I'm worried that something will happen in our bed like that first night we shared it." The male thought back to that time and didn't think there had been anything sour that had happened.

"Liru, did something happen when I was asleep?"

"Yes!" she whispered in a rush, eyes closed. "I rolled over and felt… what you had at your waist!" It took a few seconds and then Nicholas got it with her touching his junk.

"Liru… you mean…? But… how? I was sound asleep."

"I know!" the female werewolf replied. "My tail just started twitching on its own and it went there!" Her guy was silent for a bit and Liru had to open her eyes to see Nicholas was looking at her with understanding eyes.

"Well… You were asleep when you rolled over which you had no control over. And there's the fact even if you had woken me up to tell me, I wouldn't have done anything. I promise." The male placed one finger under the female's chin. "I love you too much to risk it with something like that. I'm willing to do it latter."

"You mean it?" the female asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry that it happened that way, my friend down below sometimes has a mind of his own." That statement actually made Liru giggle since the way Nicholas had said it was funny. It lightened the mood. "I wish you had told me sooner, but hey, at last I know now." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Now then, we should think about sleep, okay?"

The female werewolf nodded and hugged her boyfriend. "I love you…" she whispered.

"I love you to," Nicholas replied to his girlfriend. What he said though brought thoughts to Liru's head. What about down the road with him in that way? She then shook her head mentally. Now wasn't the time to think that. He on the other hand, when getting ready for bed, thought about having sex with Liru. Nicholas would keep his word and wait, even if that meant till marriage. He could see it, being married to the female. But now wasn't the time for that. The werewolf couple slept well, which was good since something else was coming up. It all started a week later. Everyone was out and about and it was an overcast day. Nicholas and Liru were walking Kratos and Venus while the rest of the group were doing errands or their own thing.

"They've really settled in nicely," the female werewolf said to her boyfriend.

"Yeah," he replied. "I figured they would."

"It's so cute when the sleep together at night."

Suddenly the two dogs stopped and let out growls. "Kratos, Venus, enough," Nicholas commanded in a firm voice, and the dogs did but still stared ahead.

"What is it?" Liru asked. The two werewolves looked up and saw a familiar fog heading their way.

"Not this again…" the male werewolf growled and all four were swallowed up by the fog of the Otherworld again. When they came to, they noticed the foggy atmosphere hadn't changed at all. Kratos and Venus picked themselves up and did a shake each. But to Nicholas and Liru's surprise, the rest were here as well.

"You guys as well huh?" Napoleon stated.

"What could it be for this time?" Logan asked.

"Maybe the last of the pieces," Nicholas said. "We don't have weapons, but we should be able to handle ourselves just fine." The first thing they noticed was that they were right by a car that had the trunk open. There was a key inside that went to a lumber yard. And next to that was a theater ticket. The group then walked forward into the fog. They noticed there were monsters lumbering about, ones without arms and no faces. These were easy to avoid. Then came the main street where the monsters became some kind of blob like ones. Even though nobody had a map, their guts were telling them they were heading the right direction. Soon they reached a building that had the word deliveries on a sign above the door. They went right in and found themselves in a darkened hallway with what appeared to be large bodies of meat hanging on hooks and a couple of places which meant the place was a butchery. They walked forward and saw blood on the floor in a large stripe. However, there were a few things in here that could serve as blunt weapons. Nicholas grabbed a crowbar, Napoleon got a meat hook, and Liru found a bat. The androids were fine since they were naturally strong while Logan and Uma had their wands with them always.

"That's better," Nicholas said. "But I'd rather have a sword or gun. No helping it I guess." They made their way outside and stopped when they saw a monster with female characteristics. Her entire front was split open and blood was everywhere.

"My god…" Logan stated. "She's been gutted and split open."

"I don't think we want to meet whatever did this," Cosmo said. Moving away from the gruesome sight, the group went up the street and found the lumber yard. Right away a couple more things that could be used as crude weapons were found and taken. There was only one door that they went through. Emerging from it showed the theater that the ticket could be used at across the street.

"Handy," Uma said. Everyone walked up to the counter and Nicholas slide the ticket in. They heard something click and went to the front entrance of the building. It was unlocked and there wasn't much choice but to head in. The inside, while clean was dull in color like the surroundings outside. The lighting wasn't the best it could be as well. Aiko then spotted a map for this placed and grabbed it. Everyone took a look, even Venus and Kratos who sniffed at it.

"Looks like there are two floors," Nicholas said. "We could split up but knowing this realm, we'll have to go back and forth in here."

"So where do we start?" Liru asked. It was decided to go through one of the doors on the first floor. It was dark in here but thanks to a certain ruin, the group were able to see just fine and found themselves in the viewing area. They could see the rows of seats. It was then down to the stage and to the left. Doing so led to a door that everyone went through. After passing through a small room, the group found themselves on the stage.

"And we couldn't just jump up to it?" Napoleon asked.

"True, but just in case we might have missed something," Nicholas replied. "And we did say we'd stick together." Walking across it found them in another room that served as a control one. There was some kind of note on the main switch in here.

"What is it?" Pachira asked.

"Well this isn't good," Cosmo replied, reading it. "Seems this place doesn't work right. We'd better be careful or we won't be able to move the curtain on stage if a light blows out." The group then went through a door here to another dark room. It was a storage area for props and costumes. They slowly walked ahead and didn't notice a creepy mannequin doll turn its head to them. It was wearing no clothes so the entire wooden body could be seen and there were spots on it that looked rusted. But the clacking it did was picked up by the ears of the dogs and werewolves. They turned and Liru let out a startled gasp which caused the others to look.

"Strike it down!" Nicholas growled.

They all attacked and knocked the enemy to the ground where it was torn apart by Kratos and Venus pulling at the head and body apart. "There's likely more in here," Napoleon said. "Keep an ear and eye out for them." The group continued down the dark area, eventually reaching a door. Going inside they found a dark grey square with a painted-on sun symbol. There was nothing else though. Upon going out, they noticed another of the mannequin like enemies. "I've got this," Cosmo said and fired at them, killing it right away. It was then onto the security office that was back here. Inside this room was a katana that Nicholas took, giving his crude weapon to Liru. There was also a mirror in here.

"Guess it's time to change things up," Nicholas stated. "Everyone ready?" They nodded and held up their right hand to it, immediately going to the twisted version of this place. The surroundings became molded like. The group walked out to find more mannequin like enemies waiting for them. Nicholas took his new katana and sliced them to bits. Then it was through a door where a key was obtained. Since there was nothing else in here, it was back out in the dark hallway. Looking at the map that had been picked up earlier showed the group was still on the first floor but in a side hallway next to the seating area. They made it to some stairs that went to the second floor. After going through a door, they saw another nearby that had a shining light like symbol on it. There were two square holes next to it on either side.

"I bet that square we found goes there," Liru said and inserted it on the hole on the right. It was a perfect fit.

"There should be another," Uma commented.

"Doesn't seem like there's anything else here," Aiko said. "Let's head back to that mirror." The group did so and soon the molded like surface disappeared. Then it was back out to the main entrance and up the stairs to the second floor. It was here that the key picked up from before was used to unlock one of the doors. This allowed them to get where the seating on this area was and the lighting box that controlled the lights. The only thing in here of value were four different lights with different watts. There was a piece of paper here that had notes on it about how to make the spotlights work. Then it was out of this room and down the stairs into a smaller one where a similar looking slab was found that had a moon design on it. It was then back to the mirror and upstairs where the first slab had been placed. The new one was inserted into the second hole they were able to go through the door that had the shining light symbol on it. Then it was up some stairs and into another dark hallway. It was then down the single path until another mirror was found which was used to return things to normal. Then it was to the scaffoldings of this place.

"I bet we can find the area where the lights go here," Napoleon said.

"Let's go," Nicholas commented and slowly led the way across one of the narrow paths. "And don't look down." The group went to each of the four sections that had the lights missing. They were all put in and then Cosmo found a lever at the end of the walkway and pulled it. The lights came on, lighting up the stage. It was then back downstairs and to the controls that worked the curtain on the stage. When the lever for it was pulled, it came up. Going to it showed that one section of the wall there was a mirror. But in the corner was what was more important; the controls for the props and scenery.

"Looks like there's a lever missing for the props," Napoleon said.

"Let's match up what we can for now," Pachira commented. The first props and sets that were used were trees and some kind of arch appeared. Doing so caused a sound to be heard from where the mirror was. The group went over to it and were transported to the darker version of the place. They didn't leave the stage but looked by one of the trees which had a key for the stage office. It was then back to the mirror. Those from the nether and the dogs took the key to the door it went to. Inside this room they found the missing lever. This was taken to the control panel and placed in the missing slot. The group got the right scenery out which was some kind of cave wall with a drape for a prop. The same nose was heard again. They all walked in front of the mirror but didn't use it just yet.

"Just get ready for whatever comes at us," Nicholas said and they all held their hands up to it. They were teleported to the distorted version. They emerged and instantly the sound of shuffling. Looking behind, they saw a limb with some wrapped bloody bandages around it. Then the group saw a body of some kind that was a bit massive. There were three more legs with more bandages and the head of it was underneath the body. It began to move but these were slow.

"Let's take it out!" Nicholas stated and drew the katana. Venus and Kratos let out barks and went in with the male werewolf, the blade and their teeth scoring marks. They then backed off as the monster lashed out with its limbs.

"My turn!" Napoleon stated and went in to attack. The rest of the group did whenever they could and it wasn't long before this creature was beaten. Like the other times a circle colored with symbols appeared with another piece of the Flarous in the middle. Uma went over and picked it up.

"Looks like it's the Falsehood piece," Logan stated. The group then looked up and saw Aya standing there.

"You need these, don't you?" Nicholas asked.

"Two more…" the little female said and the vibrations came out again, causing the group and dogs to fall unconscious. When they woke up, they saw they were in the lobby of the theater.

"Guess we're not leaving yet," Logan said.

"Were to now?" Liru asked. Aiko looked to the floor in front of them and saw a dead mannequin like enemy. There was a key next to it and she picked it up. There was a tag attached to it that had the word Motel on it.

"Probably here," the female android said.

"Let's go then and get the next piece," Cosmo stated. The group left the theater and had to walk quite a ways and even cut through a couple of buildings before reaching a gate near a dinner. From there it was a quick walk across the street to the motel. They knew they were there because they saw the sign. They went around the side that had another sign that showed it was for staff and went through the gate. There was a short path to the door which the key was used on and the group got in. They found themselves at the lobby and sign in area.

"Nothing much here," Logan stated.

"It's simple," Uma commented.

"That should make it a bit easier to search," Aiko said. Looking on the wall behind them the group found a map of the place. This was taken along with a key behind the desk that was for room 306. There was also a rotary calendar here, but without the combination, there was no point in messing with it for now. It was then out another door to where the rooms could be reached. The dogs and those from the nether saw that the rooms were small spaces that could be walked to on the outside and there were stairs that led up to the ones above. One of them was used to get to the right side where the room was. There was an enemy in here that was killed quickly. Going into the bathroom, the first mirror of this place was found.

"Guess it's time to change again," Liru said.

"Let's do it," Pachira commented and they all held their hands up to it. The walls became cracked with blood on them and darker shades of black. There were also pipe like bars appearing to. The group left this room and went outside. They saw the floor had become grate like with short walls that were rusting. It was like that for the building and some had bar like walls to.

"Where to now?" Uma asked.

"This way," Nicholas replied and led the rest to a door that was rusted. He pulled on it, creating a horrible noise.

"Ugh!" Liru moaned, covering her ears. A couple of doors latter, the group found the next mirror and came out of the hellish version. The room they were in had a lot of photos hanging on the wall and on string.

"What the hell is all this?" Logan asked.

"There's nothing here of value," Cosmo said after looking around.

"Back outside," Nicholas said simply and they all waked out. It was then onto the maintenance office. There were power boxes and a note saying that one of the washing machines was broken. There were instructions to on how to make it work. Then it was out to the long hallway through a door. There was a hole in the wall where they saw a calendar with a fish on it. One of the dates was circled. The fish was similar to the one found at the lobby. At the end was a table with a management office key. The group left this and went back outside. It was then through a gate and down an alley. Two monsters were in the way and quickly killed. Everyone made their way up to the office. Thanks to this, they were able to reach a new section. They kept going until they reached some dumpsters were and stopped when the saw the dead body of a monster with a trail of blood leading to the door they had to go through.

"Oh my god…" Liru whispered in fear, grabbing Nicholas. Kratos and Venus let out growls.

"Shit, someone's gone to town on this one with a knife," Napoleon said, getting closer and looking at the carcass. "And quiet a big one." The male vampire looked to the door. "Guess it went in there."

"Do we really have to go in?" Aiko whispered.

"You wanna get out of here?" Logan asked and led the way in. Everyone walked in and heard the sound of what sounded like a pig squealing. The wizard held a finger to his lips as they got closer to a corner. Then then heard the sounds of some kind of being and chopping. The males and females looked around and saw a horrid sight. Some kind of monster was hanging from the ceiling by a chain. There was also a humanoid monster with a huge meat cleaver. It was wearing a bloody apron and the skin was grey with blood on it. Half of the face was covered by a grey colored mask. But the other half could be seen and there was no mouth or eyes. Only an ear and nose. The group watched in horror and disgust as they saw the butcher like monster run the weapon down the body of the chained-up monster, drawing blood. It then proceeded to stab it with the cleaver until it stopped squealing and was dead. The butcher like monster then sniffed the air and as though sensing the group, turned to face them.

"Shit," Nicholas simply said and then the creature began to advance. He transformed along with Liru and the male came out with his katana at the ready. The butcher monster took a swing, but the male werewolf was too quick and landed some hits, blood spraying everywhere. Kratos and Venus came forward and jumped on the creature, growling and pulling at the apron and exposed face. The creature went down from this sudden weight. The rest from the nether took this opportunity to go forward with their weapons and attack. Napoleon dealt the finishing blow with his hand stabbing through the monster's heart. The large weapon it had fell from its grasp. Napoleon then picked it up and threw it to the side. It was then out another door and into a different dark room. Then it was out another door to the outside which showed it was the pool area. The group went around a corner and into some kind of arcade room. There were only a few games. But the group found some kind of token on top of a broken pinball machine. This was taken and then it was out of the arcade room and to the laundry one. Here on a table they found a guide ripped out from a manual to the washing machines. The token was used on one of them that had something inside of it. The group got it and it was another key with a snake symbol on the tag. Then it was back outside and up some stairs right nearby. They walked until they found the door the key went to and used it.

"This seems fancier than the others," Uma said. The group then went to the bathroom and noticed the bottom of the tub was broken with a hole that went to the room below.

"As good as a way to get in," Logan said and took the first jump. The wizard landed and brushed his clothes since a bit of dust had come with him. Kratos and Venus had to be lowered down and then caught by the guy on the floor below. The rest quickly followed. While this room was nice to, there was a door that was locked and had no way out. There was a mirror found in a bathroom here which was used to get to the other dimension. Doing this allowed the door to be opened and get out of this room. This was by the pool area with the water now gone. There was some kind of jeweled heart on the bottom of the pool that was large enough to hold something. Shaking it proved this.

"Let's find a place to smash this," Cosmo said. "I'd keep it, but I don't want anything cursed from this realm." The others agreed with him. Then it was onto a room that had some kind of ornamental dagger with a crescent moon on the bottom of the handle. Then it was up the stairs nearby to the second floor. The group found a door after walking that looked a bit like some kind of eye with a slit that the dagger was placed in. Something clicked and this door was able to be opened. Inside here another ragged hole was found in the floor.

"Back down again," Nicholas said with a shrug and took the lead this time. Down below a hole in the wall was found that everyone was able to squeeze through. The group saw they were in a long hallway. The group kept going until they got out of the hellish version of the maintenance room. They were soon back at the room nearby with a mirror to get back to the less creepy version of this place. It was then back to the maintenance office where a heavy-duty vice bolted to the side of the desk was found. This was used to break open the jeweled heart. Inside was a wedding ring with a date engraved on it. The group then returned to the lobby where the fish calendar was and entered the date on the ring into it. A secret compartment appeared and the ring was placed onto the circular depression on it. Doing so caused another key with the rage having the number 505 on it.

"I think I saw it on the map were we just where," Logan said, taking it from where the other room keys were. "It was pretty locked up." The group then went to the mirror nearby this room to return to the hellish version of the place. The key was then used on the room and they were able to get in. They found that there was a long flight of stairs leading down. Finally they found the door and Nicholas slowly opened it. The male werewolf peaked around it. It was a small room, but big enough for the whole group. The guy then saw what appeared to be a corpse hanging from a rope.

"Nothing," he said.

"Nothing?" Liru asked.

"Just a corpse in here." They all went in. Suddenly Uma jumped back with a shout of surprise.

"What is it?!" Logan asked.

"It moved!" she pointed at the corpse. Everyone else looked and suddenly saw the head and body begin to twitch along with the sound of something coming. Then the twitching became unnaturally fast and distorted. Through the movements they saw the body begin to change to something else before the monster that was really there let out a roar. The head had no eyes but a mouth with sharp teeth. It was cemented to the wall. Two other limbs were on either side of the main body with them cut open to reveal ribs. There were also two tentacles that descended from the ceiling.

"Quick!" Nicholas said. "Kill it!" Logan, his girl, and all the androids used their magic and ranged weapons to attack. The enemy took quiet the beating but was still moving. Nicholas jumped up and thrust his katana through the head and deal the death blow. The monster disappeared and on the floor, the second piece appeared. Nicholas went over and picked it up.

"Come out Aya!" he said, holding it up which was the Truth Piece. "We've got it here!" They saw her emerged, but this time, Aya didn't say anything. The group felt the vibrations before passing out again. They woke up what seemed like a second latter and found themselves in a room with nothing. But looking showed it was still in the hellish realm.

"We're still here," Liru said.

"We have four of the pieces," Nicholas said. "But they seem to be part of a much bigger thing. Question is; where is it?"

"Only one way to find out," Napoleon commented. "There's a door over there." The group had to go through a couple doors until in a final room they found what appeared to be a fifth piece in the same red circle. Nicholas went over and picked it up and saw it was diamond in shape with holes for the other four parts found. He realized it was the Present piece.

"This is that last one," the male werewolf said. "All the parts go to this one. We'll have to get back to our world to do so." The group then noticed Aya appear again.

"You have them…" she said. Suddenly the group felt the vibrations again and were knocked out. When they awoke, they saw they were back in their mansion home where the other pieces were kept safe, the weapons obtained from the realm were gone. Cosmo got them out without a word and proceeded to complete the Flaruos. The male android got it and a flash was seen briefly from the object. Suddenly it glowed with an orange light and Aya's figure metalized in the room.

"You're here now," Nicholas stated.

"Yes…" she replied. The little girl looked to Napoleon. "When the time comes… use it… You all will know…" The Flarous suddenly levitated in the air, surrounded by an orange colored light. The group saw the four pieces that attached to the main one come off and float. Suddenly they all went to five of the group with Napoleon getting the middle one and the rest being distributed to Nicholas, Pachira, Liru, and Cosmo. The light then disappeared and Aya was gone. The group from the nether just looked at the other and didn't say anything. By this point it was night time in the real world. They all went to bed, somehow knowing what the everyone else was thinking. In the morning, nobody talked about this. But the male werewolf had to bring up something else.

"I think it's time we check out that organization we heard about," he said at breakfast. "After all that, I think some action in the real world would do us some good." Everyone else agreed with him and so it was time to pack up and head to those that could take them to the DSAA. What they didn't know was what it would lead to.


End file.
